


Scent and Sensibility

by flailinginlove



Series: truth universally acknowledged [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Iruka isn't a submissive omega stereotype, Knotting, Lots of masturbation, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, apologies to Jane Austen for the title, brief mentions of a past attempted sexual assault, consent and respect, eventually lots of sex too, mild angst turning to fluff after a few good orgasms, mutually pining idiots, overly protective Kakashi, ridiculous amounts of smelling each other, slowish burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-12 15:06:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 39,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9078070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flailinginlove/pseuds/flailinginlove
Summary: In a world where most people identify their mates by scent the first time they meet, Kakashi and Iruka take a more scenic route.Or, the one where Iruka does an excellent job of hiding the fact that he is an omega, right up until he gets stuck in a cave with Kakashi.(A/B/O dynamics but without mpreg, dub-con, and rivers of gushing fluids, also trying to avoid overly stereotyped gender roles.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I keep seeing A/B/O fic in all my fandoms and while I do like some of the aspects of the trope, I dislike others. I wanted to try to write a fic that avoided the aspects I dislike as much as possible. This started from that idea and somehow grew to 37k words. It's completely written. I plan to post a chapter every 3rd day until all seven chapters are posted.
> 
> Also, regarding the title, this has nothing to do with the plot of Sense & Sensibility and is absolutely not Jane Austen writes A/B/O fic. It was a temporary joke title I used during the writing stages and then it got stuck. Like a knot. :x
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy the fic!

Iruka found comfort in small routines. The brief moments to himself in the morning, before 30 ninjas-to-be threw his day into chaos with far more precision than they threw kunai. The fleeting calm before bed, after he'd spent hours yelling at jounin with even worse handwriting than his students.

He measured peace in cups of tea and well-worn habits. The slow stretch and burn of his muscles as he ran through his daily exercises. Pulling his hair up and putting his uniform on piece by piece in the morning, physical and mental armor for the day. The methodical unwinding of the wrappings around his calves and thigh at night. Showering at the end of the day like he could wash any residual stress down the drain with water and scent-neutralizing soap. Herb tea in the evening as he graded papers and read. Green tea in the morning, strong enough to cover the bitter aftertaste of the suppressant he took with it.

People would use words like _boring_ or _reliable_ to describe him more often than not. _Average, predictable, unremarkable._ His temper the only thing of note.

If his reputation was mundane, that was fine. The quiet everyday was nice. But no matter how carefully cultivated his rituals were, disarray always had a way of worming itself into his life in one form or another. Sometimes it was knee-height and crying, other times it was chicken scratch covered in blood and mud. His favorite moments of bedlam though, those frequently came dressed in orange. Or, more recently, they had a tendency to slouch. 

Iruka popped a pill into his mouth and swallowed, grimacing as the aftertaste hit him then knocking back the rest of his tea to wash it away. Almost a decade later, he still wasn't used to the taste. He rinsed his teacup and set it on the rack to dry.

Shouldering his messenger bag full of now-graded homework, he opened his apartment door and stepped outside. Time to see what chaos the world threw at him today.

~*~*~

Most shinobi counted their victories in number of successful missions, number of battles won. Iruka counted his in other ways. Light bulb moments when a difficult lesson finally _clicked_ , students excelling in areas where they once struggled, former students finding their own ninja way, the light of another generation's Will of Fire. These were the things that made him love being a teacher, his rewards, and his joy.

However, none of that changed the fact that children could be, in Iruka's experience, vicious little shits. They could find weaknesses and exploit them at speeds most jounin could only hope to replicate in battle. 

It was mid-June, still early enough in their first year that his students hadn't realized yet how well sound echoed down the hall towards the teachers' room. The word _omega_ , hurled like a curse, was far too easy to hear as he walked towards his classroom.

Iruka resisted the urge to sigh. This. _Again_. It happened like clockwork with every new class. 

Suzume caught his eye and grimaced as she walked past him to her own classroom. _Have fun with that_ , her expression clearly said.

He paused and leaned against the wall next to the door of his classroom, waiting to hear exactly how much of a lecture he was going to have to give this time.

"Take it back!" 

Iruka could easily identify the voice, soft but fierce. Kishou was small for his age, delicate even, with an airy beauty that made him seem almost otherworldly even at seven years old. If Iruka were to ask ten shinobi which student in his class was most likely to present as an omega, at least half of them would point to Kishou without even giving it a second thought. The few that didn't would hopefully know that they hadn't been given enough information to answer the question. There was also a high probability that they had graduated from the Academy during Iruka's tenure. 

"It's true! You're too weak to be anything else." 

_Amikoe_ , Iruka thought. She was frequently the ringleader of any trouble happening in the class. _And where she goes..._

Iruka wasn't surprised to hear the next two voices that chimed in.

"You should just quit now," Tose said, always following just a step behind Amikoe.

"Yeah, you won't make it past genin," Seji added, not wanting to be left out of their game.

"If he even makes it that far," Amikoe cut in and her two co-conspirators laughed.

"I'm going to be a jounin, you'll see," Kishou fired back.

Amikoe snorted at the idea. "You'll always be just a worthless, weak omega."

Kishou didn't have an immediate come back for that, but Iruka felt chakra building inside the classroom. It was unstable, as expected from a first year student, but there was clear intent behind it. That was Iruka's cue. He jumped in between the students before they even realized he was in the classroom, effectively stopping their fight before it could even start.

An immediate _oh shit, we're in trouble_ hush fell over the classroom. Iruka might not freely admit the extent to which he savored that particular variety of silence, but he didn't try to hide his enjoyment much either. 

"Sit down. _Now_."

The clump of students that had gathered at the front of the classroom to watch the brewing fight scattered, darting to their assigned seats. Most of them stared at him with wide eyes, expressions ranging from guilty to nervous to upset. Kishou was looking at him with poorly covered anger and accusations. It was enough to tell Iruka that this wasn't the first time he had been made fun of for his potential nature and he didn't expect Iruka to do anything about it.

"I was under the impression that you are all 6 or 7 years old. Is that correct?"

The classroom was quiet enough Iruka could have heard an ANBU move.

" _Is that correct?_ " he repeated.

"Yes, sensei," they replied.

"And do any of you know for sure what your nature will be?"

"No, sensei." Most of them weren't looking him in the eyes anymore.

"Then why do you think you know what anyone else's will be?"

"But, sensei-" Amikoe started.

Iruka cut her off. "And even when you do know someone's nature, what exactly does that tell you about them?"

Another silence fell as he let them think that over.

"Their nature," a boy towards the back of the class answered quietly after a moment.

"That's correct. All you know about them is whether they are an alpha, beta, or omega. It tells you nothing about them as a ninja. There have been multiple cases of jounin being defeated by genin. Some of you probably don't believe me. How could someone so much lower than a jounin defeat them? Sometimes it's luck, sometimes it's skill or tenacity, but almost every time it's also because the jounin thought there was no way they could lose to a mere genin. Assuming someone is weak just because of their rank, their gender, or their nature, assuming anything about them, is one of the worst mistakes you can make as a shinobi."

He paused, looking around the room as he let that sink in.

"Would you think of me differently if you thought I was an alpha or an omega?"

That caused some of their foreheads to crease in thought.

"But you aren't," a girl replied.

"But if I _were_ , would you stop doing your homework? Would you stop listening in class?"

Multiple of his students shook their heads, some of them hard enough it looked like it hurt.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because you'd still be Iruka-sensei," another boy chimed in.

Iruka nodded at that. He was pretty sure what the boy really wanted to say was " _Because you'd still be too scary to mess with._ "

Amikoe was looking thoughtful while Kishou regarded Iruka with something like curiosity. Iruka knew that this one lecture wasn't enough to completely wipe out any nature-based stereotypes they might have, but it was a seed, one that he would continue to grow over the next few years. Knowing that was all he could do for now, he moved on to the lessons he had planned for the day.

~*~*~

As the last of Iruka's students trickled out of the classroom that afternoon, he finished straightening the room and then graded some papers at his desk. He could tell Kishou was hanging back, waiting until they were alone, but he let the boy approach him when he was ready.

He stood awkwardly at the side of Iruka's desk, tugging at the straps of his bag and waiting for Iruka to acknowledge him. Iruka looked up from his grading.

"Can I help you with something, Kishou-kun?"

The boy hesitated for a moment. Iruka could see the way he pulled himself together, steeling himself to speak.

"Do you mean it? What you said this morning?"

"Of course I do. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't."

Kishou still looked troubled though. Iruka set down the pen he had been marking with and leaned towards him.

"Look," Iruka said. "You're still very young and you don't know what you'll be yet. You might be anything. But no matter what your nature ends up being, you are still you and you can still do anything you want."

The boy looked hopefully for a moment, but then his face fell. Really quietly he said, "But my mother is an alpha and I think she won't love me if I am an omega." There was a slight waver in his voice and he looked close to tears.

Iruka could feel for him. He'd never found out what his parents would have thought of his nature, but when he had expressed his doubts, the Third had made it more than clear to him that they would have loved him no matter what.

Iruka put a hand on Kishou's shoulder and said, "Listen to me, I taught your older sisters, so I've known your mother for years and I know she loves you and will continue to love you no matter what. It doesn't matter if you end up being an alpha, beta, or omega, she will still love you. The only thing that she wants is for you to be happy and safe."

"Really?" he asked, looking hopeful.

"Really," Iruka said, "and if you don't believe me, just ask her tonight and she will tell you the exact same thing."

Iruka blinked in surprise as Kishou threw his arms around his neck and hugged him quickly then ran out of the classroom, yelling, "Bye, Iruka-sensei! Thank you!" on his way out the door. 

Iruka couldn't help but smile after him.

~*~*~

He was halfway home when Kakashi fell into step beside him.

"Shouldn't you be off on some mission somewhere?" Iruka said by way of greeting.

"Maa, sensei, I wouldn't want to leave you alone for too long now, would I? Who knows what you'd get up to."

Iruka grinned at that. "Justify it all you want, but I know the real reason."

"And what might that be?"

"Obviously because you are getting too old for missions."

Kakashi sputtered. "Who are you calling old?"

Iruka eyed Kakashi's hair then his mask. "You can tell me the truth. The real reason you keep most your face covered is to hide the wrinkles, isn't it?"

Kakashi snorted. "Sensei, do you believe me to be the kind of man who would hide the mementos earned from his journey down the road of life?"

"You were hanging out with Gai all day, weren't you?" Iruka asked with a chuckle.

"He decided today's challenge was writing poetry." Kakashi gave him a traumatized look.

"You cannot tell me that unless you intend to show me what you wrote."

Kakashi started to dig in his vest pockets. "I brought it in case you were interested. Gai declared it a Hip and Moving Display of Youthful Passion. It's called "Shall I compare thee to an Icha Icha page.""

Iruka put his hands up in front of him in surrender, "I'm good. Thanks."

"Well, if you change your mind, I'll read it to you, sensei." Kakashi winked at him and Iruka felt himself blush at the idea of Kakashi reading him something that was probably very graphic. Not for the first time, he was thankful that his suppressed scent was like a beta's and didn't give away any emotions. 

He found himself trying to remember when he had started to be able to tell the difference between Kakashi's winks and regular blinking. It had to have been months ago already. He'd gotten used to Kakashi's expressions the same way he'd gotten used to Kakashi's scent, though he'd never been able to figure out how to read the latter. 

Iruka knew high level alphas learned to control their scents for undercover missions, using chakra to manipulate their pheromone levels to make themselves smell like betas or to keep their emotions from leaking into their scents. He'd read the theory behind it but it required precise wielding of chakra and took ridiculous amounts of time and effort to learn and maintain. It wasn't something most of them kept up once they were back inside the safety of the village, and without that control, it was far too easy to pick up any heightened emotions that were coming off of them. 

Kakashi's scent was a mystery though. He kept control of it even in the village. It was still a clear alpha scent, but that was the only thing it gave away. It was the olfactory equivalent of looking at a blank page. 

They made their way through the streets, bantering back and forth until they arrived at Ramen Ichiraku. Iruka cocked an eyebrow at Kakashi. It was supposed to be his turn to pick where they ate, but somehow they had ended up here.

Kakashi just shrugged. "It sounded good."

Iruka wanted to call bullshit on that, but he'd wait until after they had eaten. He could always pick something he knew Kakashi liked more next time to make it up to him.

They slid onto two empty stools at the counter and placed their orders. He sighed in happiness as the steaming bowl of ramen was put in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Kakashi watching him and he smiled a little sheepishly. There was no point in pretending he didn't enjoy this the most. Kakashi gave him one of his famous eye-smiles in return, another thing that ranked high on Iruka's list of favorites.

Moments like these made him wish he could stop time and live in them forever, or failing that, record them like Kakashi could.

Iruka tucked into his food, telling himself that good friends and good food always made people feel that way.

~*~*~

Kakashi hadn't planned for things to end up like this, it had just happened. He'd heard a bit of news about Naruto and caught Iruka after work to pass it on. It'd been awkward at first, neither of them knowing much about the other except what they'd heard from the gossip mill and Naruto. But one time had turned to two, which had turned to a dozen, and soon Kakashi found himself seeking out Iruka even when he didn't have anything new about Naruto to share.

Falling into step with Iruka after he had finished his day at the Academy or his shift at the Mission Desk had started to feel second nature to Kakashi. Eating dinner by himself had started to feel lonely.

Kakashi had always been more likely to take to the roofs when he wanted to get from one end of town to the other, but he found wandering the streets with Iruka gave him an entirely different perspective. Very few people would call out to Kakashi, but some days it seemed like Iruka knew the whole village. 

Iruka was warm. People seemed drawn to him. They wanted to be close to him. It was something Kakashi could understand. Most of the time he didn't mind, but lately when he felt someone's eyes lingering on Iruka for too long, his hackles started to rise. Especially when it was an alpha who was showing interest. 

Iruka seemed fairly oblivious to most of the interest that was shown his way, but there was no way he couldn't have noticed some of the more blatant looks he received. No way to miss the scent of an alpha wanting to stake a claim. But he dismissed them all, with a polite, disinterested nod at the best of times or flatly ignoring them at the worst. 

By the time Kakashi realized he liked Iruka as more than just a friend, it was clear to him that Iruka wasn't interested in alphas. At all. Sure Iruka was friends with multiple, but any alpha that showed any amount of intention beyond friendship was immediately set in their place. He'd seen Iruka's nose wrinkle at the scent of obvious alpha interest enough times that he made sure to control his own scent as tightly as he would on an undercover mission any time they were together. No trace of attraction, no hint of possessiveness to be found.

That didn't stop him from flirting though. He enjoyed Iruka's blushes too much and he told himself it wouldn't hurt anything as long as Iruka didn't think he was serious.

As much as he wished things were different, Kakashi couldn't blame Iruka for not wanting to date alphas. It was well known most of them came with a host of issues and Iruka didn't seem like the type who would put up with overly controlling or aggressive behavior. He wouldn't be the first or last beta to swear off dating alphas all together.

Kakashi might not have a chance with him, but at least he knew every other alpha was right there with him. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep him from growling whenever he saw another alpha checking Iruka out.

Still, he found himself doing things for Iruka that he wouldn't be able to explain away with friendship alone if he were ever confronted about them. Actions and gestures that were born out of instincts telling him to provide for and protect. Even if all he could do were little things like eating at Iruka's favorite restaurant on Kakashi's night to choose instead of something he'd rather eat. The sigh Iruka let out at the sight of the ramen was more than enough to make up for it. The sound went straight through Kakashi, stroking down his spine, a reward for making Iruka happy.

They were almost finished with dinner when one of the noren curtains was thrown back and a woman rushed inside. Kakashi, Iruka, Teuchi, Ayame, and the other two customers all turned to look at her. Kakashi recognized her as a jounin alpha but didn't know more about her than that. Her gaze jumped from one person to another until it landed on Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei!" she called, taking the few steps it took to close the distance between them. Kakashi couldn't even begin to work out what her scent meant beyond the fact that she was agitated.

Iruka stood to greet her. "Sadachi-san-" he started to say, but was cut off as she grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him towards her.

Kakashi leapt to his feet then blinked as he realized that she wasn't attacking Iruka, she was pulling him into a rather crushing hug. He causally set his chopsticks down, hoping no one had noticed how he'd automatically flipped them into the reverse grip he favored for kunai. He was glad he had managed to keep himself from actually pulling one of the blades from his pouch. 

"Thank you," she said, voice sincere, as she pulled away. "I didn't know how to talk to him about it."

Iruka nodded and smiled. "Whatever you say will be fine. You love your son and that's the most important thing," he assured her.

Kakashi's visible eye was darting back and forth between them. 

She left after thanking Iruka again and they sat back down to finish their meal. The other two customers went back to eating as well.

"What was that about?" Kakashi asked after a beat, far too curious not to say anything.

Iruka sighed. "Some of my students were picking on a boy who seems like he might end up being an omega."

Kakashi felt himself bristle. "Should I go talk to them?"

He wanted to ask _Should I go scare the shit out of them until they don't do that again?_ but he didn't.

Iruka surprised him by chuckling like he knew exactly what Kakashi was thinking. "I already did. Also, having an alpha try to scare them into thinking omegas are strong is probably not the best way to go about things."

"I could cover myself in omega pheromones first," Kakashi suggested. 

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Iruka trying to imagine that and starting to snicker.

"You're imagining me in heat right now, admit it," he said, enjoying the bright red shade Iruka turned at the comment and wishing that beta scents gave off emotion too. Iruka's scent was nice, probably the nicest beta scent he'd ever smelled, but Kakashi always found himself wondering how it would change in moments like these if it could.

"Anyway," Iruka said, trying to get the conversation back on track, "we'll keep that as our plan B. If my lessons don't work, you can have at them."

Kakashi wasn't letting him off that easy though, not when there were still traces of a blush on his cheeks. "With or without the pheromones?"

Iruka shook his head, his tone was exasperated but he was fighting a smile. "I will leave that decision up to you."

"Definitely with, then. You don't know any omegas who'd help me out, do you?"

Iruka shot him a look and Kakashi did his best to look innocent. They both knew the easiest way to get covered in another person's scent.

Iruka looked away and picked up his glass of water.

"You know, it might be good to have some beta scent in the mix as well. For the sake of equality. I could count on you for that, right, sensei?"

Iruka choked on his water, quickly setting the glass down again. And there, the blush was back in full force. 

Kakashi beamed at him. Going to Iruka's favorite restaurant had definitely been the right choice for the night.

~*~*~

Iruka stretched as he stood then started to straighten up the Mission Desk, shift finished for the night.

Shizune peeked her head into the room and called out to him. "Iruka-sensei, Tsunade-sama would like to see you when you are finished."

"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes," he replied, grabbing an armful of reports to file. 

When he arrived at Tsunade's office, she was looking at a scroll rolled open on her desk. She glanced up as he walked in.

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?"

"Iruka-sensei, there are two families of Konoha civilians currently living in Iron Country that have requested their children be evaluated to see if they should be brought back to Konoha for training at the Academy or not. The children range in age from 3 to 7 and the oldest two are showing signs of chakra capabilities. As you're frequently involved in admissions at the Academy, I'd like you to go and evaluate them. You'd be away from Konoha for roughly eight days. Are you willing to accept this mission?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Would it be possible to leave after the start of summer vacation at the Academy?"

"That's fine," she said, tossing him a C-rank mission scroll. "Prepare to leave August 1st, we will arrange a meeting date with the families. You'll be assigned an escort for the mission, though we don't foresee any trouble."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he replied, bowing and then leaving the office. 

On his way out of the building, he scanned the scroll. It was a standard evaluation mission. He would be escorted by three chuunin to and from Iron Country, where he'd meet the families and test the children for advanced chakra abilities. An eight day mission, but six of those days would be traveling to and from the meeting point. 

Tucking the scroll into one of his vest pockets, he started to head towards his apartment. It didn't take long before the familiar presence of Kakashi dropped down from a nearby roof and fell into step with him. 

"You're a little late tonight, sensei, how very unIruka-y of you."

Iruka waved one of his hands vaguely in the air. "Maa, the road of life takes many unplanned turns."

Kakashi snorted at that. "Sensei, I think I might be rubbing off on you."

"I'll have to be more careful then. We wouldn't want that now, would we?"

"I don't know, sensei, rubbing off on you could be a very good thing." 

There was a leer in his voice and Iruka felt his face heat at the double meaning and hoped it was dark enough Kakashi wouldn't notice. He probably did though. There wasn't much Kakashi missed.

"Actually," Iruka said, steering the conversation to safer ground, "Tsunade-sama called me into her office."

"Mission?"

"Yeah, going to Iron Country for about a week to evaluate some potential students."

"Who's your escort?"

Iruka shrugged. "I don't think they've been assigned yet. Not leaving for another three weeks."

"Hmm..." Kakashi said, stopping in the middle of the road.

Iruka stopped to look back at him.

"Okay, Iruka-sensei, see you later!" Kakashi gave him a wave before leaping up onto the nearest roof and bounding away.

Iruka stared after him for a moment then shook his head and continued walking back to his apartment. He'd realized long ago that most days it was just better not to try to make sense of Kakashi.

~*~*~

Tsunade felt Kakashi's approach before her ANBU guards did, signaling for them to stand down right before he popped through the window of her office.

"Brat, what have I told you about coming into my office unannounced?"

"Ah. What was that again?" he said, trying rather unconvincingly to look innocent. Next time she'd forget to tell the ANBU to stand down just to see what happened.

"What do you want?"

"I hear there is an escort mission to Iron Country available."

She scoffed. "I'm not wasting you on a C-rank mission that will take you out of the village for at least eight days."

"But if you send me, you wouldn't have to send anyone else. You'd actually be saving manpower this way." 

He eye-smiled at her but she just stared back at him blankly. That look didn't work on her. The challenge just seemed to make him eye-smile harder and they stayed that way for a moment until she broke the silence.

"Is there any particular reason you want to go on this mission?" she asked, suspicion clear.

"I've heard Iron Country is very pleasant during summer."

"Iron Country is never pleasant any time of year."

Kakashi shrugged. "Sometimes it's just important to follow the many unplanned turns that the road of life takes."

She sighed. "Fine, but I'm only paying you for one position on a C-rank mission, not for covering all three of them."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, giving her a little salute before disappearing in a whirl of leaves. 

"Brat," she muttered again under her breath and looked over at Shizune who just shrugged at her. _I don't know either_ , the movement seemed to say, but Tsunade had at least a little bit of an idea why Kakashi might be volunteering.

~*~*~

Iruka was in the middle of cooking dinner when there was a knock on his door. He grabbed a towel to wipe off his hands and went to open the door, not particularly surprised to see Kakashi waiting outside.

"Hi!" Kakashi said, cheerfully, "Guess who your escort is going to be?"

Iruka looked at him skeptically. "If you are about to say-"

"Me!" Kakashi declared with flourish.

Iruka just shook his head. "Get in here."

He went back to cooking, grabbing a few extra vegetables to cut up while Kakashi toed off his sandals then pulled off his gloves and washed his hands.

"It's only a C-rank mission, Kakashi," Iruka said.

"You don't think I can handle it?" Kakashi pretended to wilt as he grabbed one of Iruka's kitchen knives and joined him in cutting up the vegetables.

"Yes, that's _exactly_ what I'm worried about," Iruka teased back.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I've done hundreds of C and D-rank missions."

"And A and B-rank ones?"

"Also hundreds!" Kakashi beamed at him.

" _More_ hundreds?"

"Maa, _more_ is such a subjective term. How does one even quantify something like that?"

"Usually by numbers, but I'll take that as a yes. How did you even get Tsunade-sama to agree to it?" Iruka asked as they finished cutting the vegetables.

Kakashi just shrugged and grabbed one of Iruka's pans, handing it over to him.

Iruka eyed him as he took the pan and put the vegetables in it. "Fine, keep your secrets. But if you die of boredom on the mission, it's not my fault."

"I have full faith that you will save me whenever boredom seems like it's about to overwhelm me," Kakashi said with a solemness that somehow managed to verge on obscene.

Iruka just shook his head again. Sometimes he really had no idea what to do with Kakashi. He could feel Kakashi's eye on him as he cooked the vegetables. 

"You know, you really are wasting your time," Iruka said after a minute, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Kakashi freeze for a moment, like he was mid-battle, waiting to decide which way to attack. 

"I mean about the mission," Iruka clarified. "There are a lot of better things you could be doing with your time."

Kakashi seemed to relax at that. He shrugged and for a brief moment Iruka caught a glimpse behind one of Kakashi many walls. "Honestly, it'll be a nice change of pace."

Iruka could believe that and was going to let the subject drop.

"Plus, if I'm guarding you, it means I have a good reason to stare at your... back. For eight days straight," Kakashi added, eye dropping to slightly lower than Iruka's back.

Iruka felt his face heat. It was one of the things Kakashi teased him about from time to time. How fabulous his ass was. Iruka knew Kakashi just liked his reactions when he said stuff like that, but it was still hard to remind himself of that every time he felt Kakashi's eye on him. Kakashi was a flirt, he told himself repeatedly, just look at what he always read. He didn't mean it. No alpha could flirt like that and keep their scent neutral if they really meant it, it just wasn't in their nature.

Iruka was saved from responding when the rice cooker beeped and Kakashi moved automatically to grab two bowls and fill them with rice while Iruka finished the stir-fry and loaded up two plates as well.

They sat down at Iruka's kotatsu and exchanged dishes, falling into a comfortable silence as they ate. 

After dinner they did the dishes together as they made plans for the mission, crosschecking who would bring what supplies to make sure they didn't carry anything unnecessary with them. By the time they had finished with the dishes, the mission was planned as well and Kakashi excused himself for the night.

As he was getting ready for bed, Iruka wondered if he should be worried about how comfortable he felt around Kakashi now. He had always tried to keep most alphas at arm's length, always worried about them figuring him out. Kakashi had somehow managed to worm his way through Iruka's defenses. It was dangerous, Iruka thought, letting him get so close. But a small part of him always tried to argue back. With Kakashi, maybe it'd be okay.

~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd really appreciate comments or kudos if you enjoyed this. The next chapter will be about their mission. I'll post it in 3 days. Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the kudos and lovely comments on the first chapter. This is my first time posting on AO3 and my first time posting Naruto fic publicly anywhere, so having such a warm reception made me very happy. I really hope you'll enjoy the rest of the fic as well. ♥

When Iruka arrived at the gate, he blinked, shook his head slightly, then blinked again harder. No, he decided, he definitely wasn't seeing things. Kakashi was, in fact, waiting for him at the gate. Early.

He stopped in front of Kakashi and performed a quick genjutsu kai just to be safe. Instead of disappearing in a puff of smoke, Kakashi waved at him, eye curved into its trademark arch.

"I know I'm a vision, sensei, but I think that might be going too far."

Iruka snorted. "Was just checking to make sure you hadn't been killed by some missing-nin who was trying to take your place without knowing about your casual relationship with punctuality."

"I just like to make sure everyone comes before I do."

"How gentlemanly of you," Iruka said, feeling his face get hot and willfully ignoring the mental images that tried to paint in his mind.

"But since I came first this time, sensei, I'll be sure to make it up to you next time."

Iruka choked back a laugh, not wanting to encourage him. He suddenly and belatedly realized that eight days straight with Kakashi meant eight days straight of dirty jokes and innuendos. Iruka wasn't sure if he'd survive, but it'd be an amusing death at least.

~*~*~

Less amusing was getting caught in a line of thunderstorms midway through their second day of travel. The torrential downpour slowed their progress to a crawl. It was a wet and miserable hour as the storm passed over them. Their traveling cloaks were not enough to keep them dry, rain sneaking into their hoods and down their necks. They didn't even have a chance to dry out before the second storm hit.

They looked at each other and came to an unspoken agreement. There was no point in pushing on during weather like this when the mission wasn't critical. They could camp for the day, ride out the worst of the storms, and still arrive in time to meet the families. 

Iruka had a tent scroll in his pack, but even if he set it up, the tent wouldn't withstand the deluge. Instead he marked three nearby trees with tags and ran through a series of hand seals to activate them. Rain immediately started rolling off an invisible barrier between the trees. It wasn't much but it'd keep the worst of the rain off of them.

He glanced over at Kakashi and saw him pulling his forehead protector back over his Sharingan. Iruka gave him a look.

"Did you just copy that?" Iruka asked, surprised. 

Kakashi shrugged. "Hadn't seen that one before. What were the tags you used?"

"Modified barrier seals," Iruka answered. "I can show you later when we're less soggy."

They made quick work of setting up camp, Iruka drying out the area under the barrier and Kakashi grabbing enough wood for a small fire. Then they settled in to wait out the worst of the storm. It was cramped, but no more than the tent would have been. 

They bantered back and forth as they dried out their equipment. By the time they'd finished, the sound of the rain hitting the barrier had relaxed Iruka to the point where he felt like he might nod off if he didn't find a way to wake himself up.

"If you're tired, I can read you a bedtime story," Kakashi offered. 

Iruka resisted the urge to groan. "And what exactly might that bedtime story be?" he asked, knowing he'd more than likely regret it.

Kakashi held up his recently dried book and wiggled it at Iruka.

"I'll pass, thanks," Iruka said, torn between amusement and fond exasperation.

"Okay, sensei, but you're missing out."

Kakashi took the first watch and Iruka fell asleep quickly. The rain was lighter but still beat a steady rhythm on the barrier and the trees around them, lulling him to sleep. When Kakashi woke him for his turn it was far later than it should have been, far closer to dawn than was fair if they were splitting things equally. Iruka didn't call him on it, but he would if Kakashi tried it again. If this was how he always acted on missions, taking on more than his fair share, no wonder he frequently came back exhausted.

The rain tapered off in the early hours of the morning and dawn slowly crept through the trees. About a half an hour before he needed to wake Kakashi, he dug through his pouch and took a pill from his supply, swallowing it and washing it down with water. The rainstorm had set them back a day, but it was fine. Unexpected things happened all the time, a day or two delay wasn't uncommon on missions that lasted over a week. That was why he'd brought extra suppressant after all.

He woke Kakashi and they had a quick breakfast before heading out again. They made good time during the next two days of their journey, arriving in the afternoon on the fourth day instead of the evening of third as they had originally planned.

The last day had been spent making their way through the snowy mountain passes that separated Iron Country's peninsula from the rest of the continent. The worst of the snow had melted for summer, making it easier going than it could have been, but Iron Country still lived up to its reputation. Coming over the final pass to see the small seaside town had felt like a blessing. They quickly made their way to the inn they'd be staying at for the next few nights, glad to get out of the cold.

~*~*~

The first family met them in the town the following day as planned and Iruka evaluated the children. The 6 year old girl was easy enough to evaluate, but her 3 year old sister took a little more work. In the end Iruka decided they both could be admitted to the Academy, should their parents choose. It was never an easy choice for civilian parents, but he tried to give them as much information as he could.

The other family should have arrived the same day but a note came instead. One of their children was sick and they wanted to push the evaluation back two days. Iruka replied with a note saying it was fine, leaving him with nothing to do but wander the small town with Kakashi and kill time. 

The town was nice but didn't offer much in the way of entertainment so Iruka found himself walking along the coast more often than not. It couldn't even charitably be called a beach, he decided. It was cold and dreary, but the sound of the icy waves crashing against the rocks was relaxing. 

Iruka closed his eyes and inhaled, taking in the sound and the smell of the North Sea. When he opened them again he realized Kakashi was watching him with amusement in his eye.

Iruka gave him a look. "If you make even one joke about my name right now, so help me, I'll find a field and leave you there." 

"Come on now, sensei, is it really worth the effort? I think the nearest field is at least a country away."

"You'll find I can be very persistent."

Kakashi grinned at him. "I found that months ago."

It was almost like a vacation. A vacation to a place Iruka would never willingly choose to go on his own.

The second family arrived on the eighth day of the mission. Their children's results weren't as promising as the first family. While both children definitely did have potential, their chakra levels were low enough that they'd need to have spirits like Rock Lee's to advance much in the ninja world. Iruka felt bad telling the parents that, but they seemed relieved when he explained the results. In the end, he figured they had only had their children tested out of loyalty to Konoha, not out of a desire to see them become ninjas. They thanked Iruka and left before noon.

When Kakashi and Iruka went to settle things with the innkeeper, he warned them against leaving the following day as a blizzard seemed to be on its way. They decided to make the call in the morning, but once they woke up and saw the whiteout conditions outside, they pushed their departure back a day.

"What godforsaken country has blizzards in _summer_?" Iruka asked as they stared out into the swirling white of the storm.

"This one, apparently."

"Remind me to evaluate only potential students that live in Hidden Hot Spring Village from now on." 

Kakashi nodded. "I'll escort you there."

Iruka fought back a smile. That would be a vacation he would actually choose.

The rest of the day they spent in the inn's common room, playing card games with a borrowed deck. They started with poker, regular not strip as Kakashi had suggested, until Iruka realized the futilely of playing against someone wearing a mask. Then they worked their way through most of the other games they knew.

By evening the storm had blown over and they headed to their rooms, hoping to get an early start.

~*~*~

In the morning, Iruka took another pill and counted the rest. He had five left, more than enough to get home. He finished making his pack and headed downstairs to meet Kakashi.

It wasn't until they stepped out of the inn that Iruka felt the first stirrings of worry. The blizzard had left deep drifts of snow that blocked most of the streets, requiring them to use chakra to walk over it like they would on water. The temperature had dropped into the subfreezing range, so they'd need to warm their blood almost constantly with chakra to avoid frostbite. The mountain passes would require extra time and they'd have to take extra care not to leave a trail in the snow that could be easily followed. It'd be a slow and exhausting journey.

 _Five days_ , Iruka thought, _five days home, not three_. 

That would put the mission at 14 days. It was still within the 15 days of pills he'd brought, but it was closer than he was comfortable with.

He thought briefly about trying to find suppressant in the town before they left but there was no good reason for him to get away from Kakashi for long enough to find some, if there even was any. Considering the size of the town and the lack of nearby ninja populations, it didn't seem likely. 

There was no way around it. He just had to hope there would be no more delays.

~*~*~

Two days outside of the town, as they were still making their way back through the mountains, another storm hit just before nightfall. They took shelter in one of the many rocky caves that littered the mountains. It was small but dry and offered enough shelter from the elements that they wouldn't die of exposure.

There was no choice but to wait out the storm. Iruka spent a lot of the time doing math in his head. 

_15 days_ , he calculated as they spread out their bedrolls. _We can still make it in 15 days_. 

It'd be fine.

In the morning, Kakashi looked over at him. "We should have stolen that card deck."

"We could always cut up that book of yours and make our own," Iruka teasingly suggested.

"Did you know there actually is an official card game that goes along with the books?" Kakashi asked, fannish glee clear in his voice. "You only need two players, but unfortunately we don't have all the necessary props."

"On second thought," Iruka said, "let's keep the book whole, in case we run out of firewood."

Kakashi looked horrified, clutching the book to his chest. "You wouldn't."

Iruka grudgingly admitted he wouldn't. Even a questionable book was still a book after all.

They ended up making a makeshift shogi game out of rocks that were in the cave, various small items in their packs, and a rough board drawn on the floor in ink. Kakashi would probably give him a handicap if he asked, but Iruka didn't feel like asking. He settled in for a couple hours of Kakashi's pebbles checkmating his whetstone.

It was not until the second night, the thirteenth day of the mission, with no sign of the storm blowing itself out that Iruka admitted to himself they weren't going to make it home in 15 days. 

That was when he started going into damage control mode. He had two pills left and even if they could leave tomorrow morning, there was still a three day journey between them and Konoha. He needed to save one of those pills for the day they arrived. He did not want to show up in Konoha with no suppressant left in his system at all. There was no way that could be missed by anyone he passed, whether they knew him well or not. That left him with one more pill. 

He cursed himself for not bringing more, but on a mission of this rank, something this simple, there was no way he should have needed more than an extra week's worth of pills.

He knew all the warnings by heart. Suppressants were hard on the body. He'd been putting off going into heat for so long that he knew going without suppressant for multiple days would probably cause him to do just that. He felt dread settle into stomach at the thought. If that happened, he needed to be as close to home as possible. 

The only thing he could do was just take his second to last pill tomorrow and his final one the day they'd reach Konoha. Hopefully he'd only be off of the suppressants for one or two days max and whatever effect it did have on him wouldn't happen until he was back in Konoha. 

Iruka glanced over at Kakashi and then stared up at the ceiling of the cave. He should just tell him. That was the best thing to do. A friendly word of warning. _Just FYI, I'm not who you think I am_. Iruka swallowed. He couldn't do it. 

If they left tomorrow and Iruka could stay downwind of Kakashi, he might be able to hide his scent enough that Kakashi wouldn't notice it for the day or so he'd be off the suppressants. It was a stupid plan, he could admit that much to himself. Thinking Kakashi wouldn't notice was an insult to how good of a shinobi he was. But convincing himself it'd work was easier than finding the words to tell Kakashi something he'd only told three people in his entire life.

The following morning he took his second to last pill and waited. The snow continued to fall and the wind continued to blow outside the cave. There would be no leaving that day.

 _Fuck_ , was all Iruka could think.

Kakashi came back into the cave, hauling the better part of a tree trunk with him. He set it down and shook off his cloak. Although he'd only been out for a few minutes, the snow still fell off him in clumps, leaving small piles where it hit the ground.

"That's the last of it," he said. "If this storm doesn't end soon, we'll be in trouble."

Iruka felt himself freeze until he realized Kakashi was talking about the wood he'd just brought in. There weren't many trees in the mountains and they'd already used most of the small, twisted few that had managed to grow near the cave. Going further to find more was risky in the storm.

Kakashi started cutting the the wood down into pieces and stacking it a little ways away from the small fire they kept going near the mouth of the cave.

"But you'll keep me warm, right, sensei?" he teased.

It was just a joke, Iruka told himself. Just Kakashi being Kakashi. He'd made similar comments a hundred times before. Iruka just needed to respond the same way he always did.

"We could still burn your book." There were too make sharp edges on the words for it to sound like the joke it was supposed to be. Even Iruka could hear the tension in his own voice.

Kakashi looked over at him with concern for a moment, but then turned back to what he was doing.

He didn't tease Iruka for the rest of the night, giving him more space than usual. Iruka wanted to be thankful that Kakashi knew him well enough to know when not to push, but it just made him feel worse.

The following morning the time he should take his pill came and went and the wind continued to blow. He waited. He had a few hours, he thought, but then the pill from yesterday would be out of his system. 

By early afternoon the wind had slowly started to die down and Iruka kept his cloak wrapped tight around himself, trying to move as little as possible, hoping that a lack of movement would keep his scent from spreading more than necessary. It was only a matter of time before it would be noticeable, and Kakashi's senses were better than average. 

_Tell him_ , Iruka thought again, _tell him now before he realizes it himself_. But still, he couldn't force the words out.

When things were finally quiet outside, Kakashi went to the mouth of the cave and peered out. 

"I think it's finally passed," he said as he walked back into the cave, "let's wait for the night to make sure and then head-"

He broke off mid-sentence, frozen in place.

All the light was coming from behind Kakashi so Iruka couldn't see his face properly, but he knew if he could, he'd see Kakashi's nostrils flaring under the material of his mask, taking in the scents of the cave. Iruka's scent.

Iruka froze too, waiting for Kakashi to say something, waiting for the questions or accusations.

But they didn't come. Instead Kakashi jerked himself out of whatever thoughts he was having, and started talking again like he hadn't just had a revelation regarding Iruka mid-sentence.

"We'll head out in the morning. If all goes well, we'll reach Konoha in three days." Kakashi threw himself down on his bedroll and picked up his book again. Iruka was sure he had read through it three times in the last few days alone, but he still seemed completely engrossed by it.

Iruka didn't know whether to be relieved or thankful or what. There was no way Kakashi hadn't just realized Iruka was an omega, there was no way that he couldn't smell it in his scent now, but he didn't comment on it, wasn't looking at Iruka differently, and honestly didn't even seem to care. His scent, as blank as ever, hadn't even wavered.

Iruka let out the breath he was holding and picked up his own, much less erotic book.

~*~*~

Kakashi had been feeling progressively more restless as the day wore on and he couldn't place why. He'd been trapped before in smaller quarters for longer and with less pleasant company without feeling like he was ready to crawl out of his own skin.

As the sound of the wind died down he took the opportunity to go outside and check the weather conditions. The sharp, clean air did wonders for his senses, giving him more clarity again. He took a few deep breaths before heading back inside the cave, announcing they could leave tomorrow as he went.

Iruka's scent hit him like a brick wall. A brick wall he wanted to rub himself against for the rest of his life. A brick wall that probably tasted like heaven. Later he would acknowledge that his mind hadn't been functioning properly at that moment.

Kakashi blinked, inhaled deeply, blinked again. A constant stream of _Iruka_ and _omega_ started running through his head along with what could only be described as mental fireworks punctuating each word.

Thankfully the voice of logic in his head, the one he always thought of as Obito, even though Obito had never been particularly logical in life, cut through the fog he was standing in and threw water at the fireworks.

_Yes, he's an omega, but he's hiding it FOR A REASON._

Kakashi shook himself. He was right. Iruka didn't want him to know. He had been getting progressively more tense over the last few days but Kakashi had assumed he was just going stir crazy, far too used to being outdoors and chasing small children all day to ever sit still in such a small space for so long. Now he knew it was because Iruka must have been running out of suppressant.

He'd known of Iruka for years before they had become friends and had never heard even a whisper of gossip suggesting that he was an omega. Since they'd become closer, he'd never once even suspected it. If Iruka wanted to keep it a secret, it was his business, not Kakashi's, no matter how much part of him wanted to stalk over to Iruka and see what he'd smell like up close or how his scent would change with Kakashi kissing him. 

He swallowed hard, finishing his sentence, though not really processing it, then throwing himself down on his bedroll and grabbing his book.

He heard Iruka let out a breath and knew he had done the right thing, but damn, it didn't feel like it.

His eye moved over the pages and he flipped them out of habit but he took none of it in. Iruka's face might as well have been drawn on every single page. All he could think of was the man leaning against the wall only a few steps away from him.

Iruka's aversion to alphas suddenly made a lot more sense. Even on suppressants, alphas were much more likely to figure him out than betas, especially if they were in a relationship. 

Kakashi had tried so hard not to act on the interest he'd had for Iruka up to this point. He hadn't wanted to ruin their friendship over it. Whether Iruka was a beta or an omega didn't change that. 

He resisted the urge to groan, the next few days were going to be maddening. He just needed to get home. Iruka would go back on suppressants and Kakashi would straighten himself out and everything would go back to normal. He just needed to hold it together for that long, not fuck things up for a few days, and then it'd be fine. He could do it, he told himself, trying to breath through his mouth as much as possible. Iruka shifted and Kakashi was hit with another wave of his scent. He closed his eyes for a moment, ignoring every single instinct the more primal part of his brain demanded, focusing instead on keeping his own scent neutral.

He could do this, he told himself again. It didn't matter how addictive Iruka's scent was. He could do this.

 _Probably_ , Obito added, unhelpfully mocking as always. 

He fell asleep with his book on his face, comforted by the smell of paper and ink and his own scent blocking out most of Iruka's, not because he didn't want to smell Iruka, but because he didn't know how long his self-control would last if he breathed him in too much.

~*~*~

They both were more than eager to leave the cave in the morning. Kakashi took in fresh air like a man just saved from drowning. It helped calm some of his baser instincts.

He immediately noticed that Iruka moved downwind from him and was more than happy to comply with the arrangement. He still caught hints of Iruka's scent, but it was marginally less maddening when he wasn't surrounded by it.

Travel was slow going, but Kakashi wanted to get them across the Fire Country border before they set up camp. It was just a line on a map and it didn't guarantee that they'd be safe, but Kakashi knew he'd feel better the closer he could get Iruka to home before they stopped for the night. Iruka seemed to agree with him. Some of the countries surrounding Fire Country were much less progressive when it came to omega nature and Kakashi didn't want to run into any ninja from those countries. 

Kakashi should have known that luck wouldn't be on their side. It hadn't been all mission, why would it start now?

Kakashi sensed the other ninjas before Iruka did. He signaled to Iruka and they both jumped up into the trees. He got about as close to Iruka as he thought was appropriate, hoping their scents would mix together and make it so Iruka's wouldn't be interesting enough for the unknown ninjas to investigate. 

This close to Iruka, it was impossible not to breathe him in. Unlike alpha scents, which were often far too easy to read, omega scents were more difficult to understand. Where alphas flashed their emotions to the entire world, omegas held their cards closer to the chest with only a few people ever getting a know their secrets. All Kakashi knew was that Iruka's scent was coiled tight with stress and he had to stop himself from reaching out a hand to try to comfort him.

He heard the other ninjas move off north and he and Iruka continue their journey south. It didn't take long before he realized they were being followed. He signed to Iruka and Iruka nodded, not looking surprised. He had known as well.

There were only two ninjas following them as far as Kakashi could tell, most likely thinking a lone alpha with an omega in tow would be an easy target, expecting any real fight to be two on one.

They circled around when they found a clearing that would make a good place to take a stand, not wanting to give their pursuers a chance to catch up and attack them from behind. 

When the two ninjas entered the clearing, Kakashi and Iruka stepped out from behind the trees. Both ninjas' forehead protectors had deep slashes across the Waterfall design. 

_Missing-nin_ , Kakashi thought, _great_. He kept himself a step in front of Iruka, just enough to suggest protectiveness. 

They were both alphas, as Kakashi had suspected and while they did eye Kakashi warily, it was the looks they sent Iruka that had Kakashi starting to give off a low warning growl deep in his throat.

He'd been keeping his scent as neutral as possible, not wanting Iruka to pick up any hint of attraction, but he let go of his control for a moment. There was no way not to understand the warning and aggression in his pheromones. _Mine, back off_. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Iruka's head flicker towards him for a brief second before he went back to focusing on the other two in the clearing. Something in Iruka's scent wavered, calling to him, but Kakashi blocked it out, only focused on the missing-nin in front of them.

The two ninjas shared a look, clearly debating if it was still worth it and after a moment they seem to decide that yes, it was. They attacked without any further warning, both heading towards Kakashi. 

Kakashi and Iruka jumped to meet them, Kakashi taking the ninja on the left and Iruka blocking the ninja on the right before he could attack Kakashi as well. Before he focused on his opponent, Kakashi saw a condescending amusement in the other missing-nin's expression when he realized Iruka intended to fight alongside Kakashi and not just be protected by him.

Kakashi met his own opponent head on, holding back nothing, almost enjoying the panic that crossed the missing-nin's face as he realized exactly how overpowered he was. He went down in only a few quick moves and Kakashi turned back towards Iruka, ready to step in if needed.

Iruka threw a weak punch, overbalancing as the missing-nin easily dodged it and grabbed onto his forearm. The missing-nin seemed to be enjoying himself, toying with Iruka. He twisted Iruka's forearm and brought him close.

 _Too easy_ , Kakashi thought, _way too easy_.

The missing-nin didn't even see the crushing blow to his throat coming. He gasped for air as he crumpled to the ground, face shocked. He'd just been taken down by an E-rank taijutsu technique that all Academy students learned by their third year. Kakashi didn't pity him in the least. 

Iruka looked down at the defeated ninja in disgust, nose wrinkling at the scent of him. It reminded Kakashi that he needed to reigned his own scent back in, even if he wanted to let it tell the entire world to back off. Reluctantly he did so.

Iruka's head jerked towards him, his scent wavering briefly again. They stared at each other, silence stretching between them. 

"Let's go," Kakashi said after a moment.

Iruka nodded and they continued on, making their way into Fire Country's territory just before dusk. The weather was warmer and Kakashi felt marginally better now that they were in their own country and had less than two days of travel left, but he couldn't relax. 

Iruka's scent didn't help. It was a jumble of emotions that Kakashi couldn't work out beyond the obvious stress and it set Kakashi on edge. He didn't get more than a few hours of very shallow sleep that night, waking at every passing animal, large or small.

In the morning he finally brought up the tailed beast in the room.

"How do you plan to get back inside Konoha without anyone noticing?"

"I have one pill left, I'll take it tomorrow morning."

Kakashi nodded and let the subject drop. He could point out that it might not be enough, but Iruka had to know that. There was no use in saying it.

They made it over halfway to Konoha that day, keeping to paths that were unlikely to cause them to run into other Leaf nin and for once their luck seemed to hold. They had a little less than a day's worth of travel left and they were far enough into Fire Country that they were unlikely to run into enemy nin. Kakashi knew that alone should make him feel better, but the awkwardness between himself and Iruka wasn't letting him relax. Multiple times he started to say something, a joke or a comment, only to have second thoughts and stop.

 _We just need to get back to Konoha_ , he told himself again. Things would go back to normal after that.

The next morning Iruka woke him just after dawn, his scent already less noticeable. He must have taken his last pill while Kakashi slept.

They set out. Kakashi found himself wanting to chase after the last traces of Iruka's scent, loath to have to give it up. Part of him wanted to learn all the secrets that it had to whisper to him, if Iruka would let him. But the rest of him recognized the way the tension in Iruka seemed to fade with his scent.

The suppressant was working but it wasn't enough. They'd been in the same uniforms for days now, their scents clinging to their clothing. Three quarters of the way to Konoha, Kakashi took them off the path they were on and signaled to Iruka that they'd be stopping. Iruka gave him a confused look.

"There's a river just on the other side of these trees. You should..." Kakashi waved in the direction of the river. "I'll keep watch."

Iruka nodded and headed towards the river. It was all Kakashi could do not to follow him. He had to stop himself from imagining what Iruka would look like in the river. It was only a few minutes before Iruka came back but it was a torturous few.

Iruka returned freshly scrubbed, hair still damp but pulled back up and his clothes a little stiff looking in a way that Kakashi recognized from all the times on missions he'd had to rinse clothes out in a river and then dry them as much as possible with a quick katon. 

For the first time since the cave, Kakashi let himself really breathe in deeply. For a fraction of a second he thought they were going to be okay, but then Iruka's scent hit him again. It was much more subtle, be it was still there. Betas probably wouldn't notice, but alphas definitely would and he didn't like the odds of Iruka not running into an alpha between the gate and his apartment. 

Iruka was looking at him expectantly, but Kakashi had to shake his head no. Iruka's face fell then Kakashi had an idea.

He started rummaging through his pack, pulling out his extra uniform from the mission. He hesitated for a moment then threw the clothes at Iruka who caught them and raised an eyebrow at Kakashi.

"Sorry, they're dirty, but that should work in our favor. We're close enough in size it shouldn't be noticeable and if anyone asks we can say yours were damaged during the mission."

Iruka blinked at the uniform then looked back up at Kakashi. "Thank you," he said sincerely and Kakashi sent a reinforcing burst of chakra through his endocrine system, not wanting Iruka to know how thrilled he was at the idea of Iruka in his clothes, covered with his scent. He was helping a friend out, not marking his territory.

He turned away while Iruka changed, more for his own sanity than the sake of giving Iruka privacy. The rustling of clothing was enough of a test of will-power as it was. He didn't ask Iruka for his uniform in exchange, but he wanted to.

When he heard Iruka standing up and re-shouldering his pack, Kakashi turned back around. There was a rumble of happiness building in his chest at the sight of Iruka in his uniform and he had to tamp down on it before it could escape. 

Kakashi looked him over, no one would notice it wasn't Iruka's uniform unless they were looking for it. It was like a secret they could share just between the two of them. He took one last deep breath, but again there was nothing that anyone not looking for it would find. Kakashi nodded, they were good to go.

Another bit of tension seemed to bleed out of Iruka and for the first time in days, he smiled. "Thank you."

Kakashi had to remind himself to breathe.

They headed out, both ready to get home. From time to time he caught his scent coming off Iruka. Anyone who knew both of them might get the wrong idea about why Kakashi's scent was all over him. He didn't mind that misconception at all. 

"I'll take care of reporting in," Kakashi said as they were nearing the city, "You just get home."

Iruka nodded and was silent for a moment before saying thank you for a third time.

Kakashi tried to brush it off but Iruka wouldn't let him.

"I'm serious, Kakashi. I owe you."

"Buy me ramen next time and we'll call it even."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Iruka shake his head, but he was smiling again.

Kakashi stayed with him until his got inside his apartment. They did pass a few people they knew but no one stopped them to talk, just calling out greetings, welcoming them back. 

The mission turned out to be ten days longer than it should have been, but they were finally home safe and things were starting to get back to normal. For the first time in days, Kakashi felt himself relax.

He headed away from Iruka's apartment and towards the Hokage Tower to report that they'd returned.

~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably my least favorite chapter to write out of the seven since Iruka is too stressed for most of it for them to have many good moments together, but it'd be no fun if I didn't make things at least a little bit difficult for them. ;)
> 
> Next chapter will be the post-mission fallout. It will also be significantly more explicit. I'll be posting it on the 2nd, so see you next year. I hope everyone has a great New Year! :)
> 
> If you liked this and would like to leave comments or kudos, it really does make my day. Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still blown away by the response to this. Honestly, I was thinking there wouldn't be much interest in it at all. Thank you again for all the comments and kudos. They've been an awesome way to end 2016 and start 2017. ♥
> 
> Also, like I said before, this fic gets significantly more explicit and starts earning multiple of its tags in this chapter, so fair warning? I hope you'll still enjoy it. :)

Back in his apartment, Iruka managed to get the door closed and locked before he brought the sleeve of Kakashi's uniform up to his face and inhaled deeply. He'd been wanting to do it ever since Kakashi had thrown the uniform at him. Iruka took in another deep breath, closing his eyes and losing himself in it. It was just Kakashi's neutral scent but it was enough to remind him of the uncontrolled, protective scent Kakashi had been radiating when they faced the missing-nin. It had only been for a few minutes, but Iruka had never smelled anything like it before. He stayed leaning against his door, nose pressed into the material, until the he felt the first signs of heat roll through him. 

_Fuck_ , he thought, letting his head fall back against the door. He'd been afraid of this. It'd been years since he'd missed a day with the suppressants, of course going off them for three would bring on heat.

He wrote a quick note to Tsunade asking if she'd be willing to do a house call. As an afterthought he added _Please don't bring Sakura_ then sent it off. 

He went to his bedroom and begrudgingly changed his clothes, folding Kakashi's uniform neatly and setting it on the desk in his living room to return to him later. 

Tsunade arrived with Shizune in tow and thankfully no Sakura in sight about an hour later, as he was just finishing up dinner, relieved to eat something that wasn't field rations or freshly killed for the first time in days. Shizune's presence he could handle, he'd assumed she'd find out when he told Tsunade anyway.

Tsunade looked him over as she stepped into his apartment, but then she stopped and raised an eyebrow at him.

"You smell like Kakashi."

There were implications in that statement and Iruka shook his head immediately to deny them, pointing across the room to Kakashi's uniform. "I just borrowed his uniform to cover up my scent." 

Tsunade looked him over again.

"I'm sure that didn't help your current state."

"Probably not," Iruka agreed, though he was sure three days off suppressants would have been more than enough as it was. He hadn't even told her and she knew he was going into heat. He must be further gone than he had thought, if she could tell that much already.

"What happened?" she asked bluntly, not wasting any time.

Iruka told her the situation.

"So? We took you off Mission Desk rotation when we knew you'd be returning late. Take the next few days off, have your heat, and then start again after that. This shouldn't need a house call."

Iruka swallowed, not wanting to have the conversation they were about to have. "It's been... a while."

She gave him a level look. "How long?" 

"Seven years," he admitted.

She sucked in a breath and he knew that a lecture was coming. Shizune, who'd been watching quietly off to the side, looked a concerning mixture of shocked and worried. Suppressants were only supposed to be used to stop heats for two years max, at which point the omega was supposed to go off of them for about a week until they went into heat before going back on them again.

But instead Tsunade just said, "You realize this is going to be rough, right?"

Iruka grimaced, nodding. The last time he had gone into heat he'd been 17 and on suppressants for only two years. That time had been bad enough, he didn't even want to think about what this would be like.

"Do you need me to contact anyone?" The meaning was clear but Iruka just shook his head. None of his friends who might be willing to help him through it even knew he was an omega. His mind flashed to Kakashi, but he immediately pushed the thought away.

"Can you tell people I caught a cold or something in Iron Country and will be off duty for the next week?"

When Tsunade had become hokage, he had told her his situation and she had agreed to keep his secret even though she'd made it more than clear that she thought it was an unnecessary one. Asking her to lie for him was another thing altogether. She twisted her mouth but nodded in agreement. 

"Do you have everything you need?"

He nodded again. "I have enough food for a week at least and... everything else." He said the last part in a rush, embarrassed. 

He'd been putting off letting the suppressants lapse, always telling himself that he'd do it next school break, or the one after that, only to find yet another reason why he couldn't. A mission he needed to go on, too many lessons he needed to make for the next Academy term, a shortage of help at the Mission Desk making it too hard to get multiple days off in a row. He had a hundred reasons why he needed to push it back again and again, but that didn't mean he wasn't prepared for it in case it did happen. Being unprepared would have been so much worse.

"Okay," she said. "I'll give you leave for 8 days and we _will_ be talking about this after you're finished, but I'll let you be for now."

Iruka thanked her, relieved, and saw them out the door, locking it behind them and starting to activate the wards he had in place, first the normal security ones and then the extra layers of sound and scent canceling barriers he'd made with modified tags. He had experimented for a good couple years before he'd gotten those to the point that he felt completely sure no one outside would hear or smell him. 

Normal heats lasted two to three days, suppressant delayed heats usually lasted three or four. If Tsunade had given him eight days off, she probably thought this would last six or seven. He really hoped it wouldn't be longer than that.

He set rations bars and bottles of water by his bed. The rations were tasteless and the idea of living off of them for another six days was depressing, but he knew he wouldn't have the energy to cook once it started. He then pulled out the other supplies he'd stored at the back of his closet and set that box along with lube and tissues on the nightstand by his bed.

Taking a shower helped him feel more human after the long journey home, but he kept it quick. The hot water felt good on his sore muscles, but his skin was starting to become over-sensitized. Just drying himself off with a towel was like rubbing his skin raw. He didn't bother slipping into sweats afterwards, knowing already they'd only be an uncomfortable pressure against his skin. Checking his wards one last time, he curled up in bed, hoping to get as much sleep as possible before his heat hit.

He slept about six hours before the first wave woke him up. He whimpered and grabbed on to his pillow as he rode out the worst of it. The feeling of his sheets dragging across his skin as he moved was torturous and he had to throw them off. Any fabric on his overheated skin felt like too much, too hot, too rough. His cock was half hard but he didn't touch himself yet. The next wave would be worse, he'd wait until then. 

It was over in a half an hour and he rolled onto his back, breathing heavy. If that was only the first wave, a warning of what was to come, he was dreading the next few days. He stared up at the ceiling, writing numbers on it in his head. Four waves a day during heat was common. If his heat did end up lasting six days that meant somewhere around 24 waves to ride out. Twenty-three to go, he thought and tried not to groan at the idea. 

He held off until the next day to open the box waiting for him by his bed, after he could no longer ignore the way the more primal parts of his mind whispered that he needed more than just his hands. He worked himself open with his fingers and then fucked himself with one of the toys he kept in there, hissing at the heat that spiked through him as he did. It still wasn't enough but it helped take the edge of for a while.

He'd bought the toys before his last heat, when he was 17 and ridiculously embarrassed about the whole thing, blushing bright even in the henge he'd used to go to the shop. The older lady who ran the shop had given him a very thorough run down on how to care for and clean them as they stood in front of the corner euphemistically signed as "Heat Aids." He had wanted the ground to open up and swallow him at that moment, but it wasn't until he was out of the shop, nondescript brown bag in hand, that he realized he knew at least two earth jutsu that could have accomplished just that.

By the evening of the third day, he couldn't sleep even between waves, too hot and wanting for even a few hours of sleep to take him. The aids weren't helping much either. He shook his head, trying to focus on the little jolts of pleasure he was feeling, trying to make that enough but it wasn't working. He pressed his eyes closed and tried to imagine what he needed. Unbidden, an image of Kakashi appeared in his mind, lying back and letting Iruka fuck himself on his cock. Iruka felt a sharp spike of heat go through him at the idea. He wanted to feel him, taste him, smell him. The thought of Kakashi's scent tore a moan out of Iruka. 

It was still not enough though, just the thought of it. It still left him wanting more, left him wanting _Kakashi_. And then it hit him. He didn't have Kakashi there, but he did have his uniform. He had one brief moment of clarity where he told himself it was a bad idea, it was disrespectful to his friend, but that voice of reason wasn't enough to stop him. He slipped out the toy for long enough to stumble into his living room on shaky legs and grab the uniform. He pressed his nose into the fabric, moaning at the smell. 

He didn't remember walking back to his bed. The next thing he knew he was riding the toy again, his face buried into the fabric of Kakashi's uniform as he sobbed in pleasure. Kakashi's scent was exactly what he needed. His orgasm hit him unexpectedly fast, hard enough that he couldn't see or speak for a few moments afterwards. When he could move again he pulled the toy out, rolled onto his side, and cuddled into the uniform. He was finally able to drift back to sleep, surrounded by Kakashi's scent, mind full of him. 

It was some time on the fourth day, between waves of heat that he woke to the sound of tapping on his bedroom window. Disoriented, he staggered towards it. Tapping on a window usually meant a summons from the hokage, but he couldn't understand why Tsunade would be summoning him right now. He pulled the curtain aside enough to peek his head through and look outside, expecting to see a bird perched on his window sill. Instead he found Kakashi.

His initial reaction wasn't one of shock or worry that Kakashi would know he was in heat, it was one of desire. Quicksilver, lightning-laced _want_. It was that corner of his mind whispering _yes, Kakashi_. He was _exactly_ what Iruka needed. A moan slipped out of his mouth before he could even think to stop it.

Kakashi couldn't hear him through the wards but any chance he hadn't figure out what was happening before was gone now. There was still enough light in the early summer evening for him to see Kakashi's visible eye shift from concerned to shocked to a predatory intensity focused solely on Iruka. Iruka moaned again in response before he could get control of himself. 

It took all of his willpower to press the shinobi hand sign for 'go' against the glass.

Kakashi remained frozen for a moment then nodded sharply and leapt away from the window. Iruka bit his tongue so as not to call him back, not that Kakashi would have heard through the wards anyway. 

Shaking, he pulled the curtain firmly closed and crawled into bed again, pressing his face back against Kakashi's uniform while the omega corner of his mind told him over and over again how much of a fool he was. But he argued back, what should he have done? Let Kakashi in? Kakashi didn't want him like that. Anything that happened between them would have only been instincts taking over. An alpha reacting to an omega in heat. Iruka didn't want that and it wasn't fair to Kakashi either. Knowing that didn't make Kakashi's absence any easier though.

Most of the next two days passed in a blur of exhaustion, both physical and mental, but finally on the sixth evening Iruka could tell the waves were fewer and further between. He slept longer and it took less to satisfy him. After one last wave, he fell into a deep sleep.

He woke up early on the seventh morning, feeling raw, aching, and in serious need of a shower, but finally normal again. Normal and very, very hungry. His body suddenly remembering it hadn't had much to eat in the last six days.

Still naked, he hobbled to the kitchen, devouring a package of dried fruit and nuts in record time, then took a suppressant pill and some painkiller before he made his way to his bathroom for the what felt like the longest and possibly best shower of his life, washing himself multiple times over before he felt truly clean again. He slipped on some of his most worn sweats and found comfort in wearing clothes again. 

Moving slowly, he started the process of cleaning up the mess he'd left in his bedroom, striping the sheets from his bed and putting them in the wash along with his uniforms from the mission and after some hesitation, Kakashi's uniform as well. Kakashi's scent was now faint, hidden well below Iruka's. He cleaned the heat aids and put them back into his closet, hoping he wouldn't need them for another two years then started spraying scent-neutralizing deodorizer. The deodorizer took about an hour to be truly effective and he used that time to eat again, actually breathing between bites this time, and then stretch out some of the kinks he felt in his sore muscles. 

When he was finally satisfied that enough of his scent had been neutralized, he felt it was safe to open up his windows to air out the apartment. He hung his sheets and clothes out to dry on his small balcony.

He was in the middle of remaking his bed with his spare set of sheets when his he heard a knock on his door. Iruka froze and then shuffled to the door.

His scent had faded, but some people might still be able to pick it up. He hoped it was Tsunade checking up on him but when he looked through the peephole he almost jumped at the sight of Kakashi standing in front of his door. His slouch was a little more stiff than usual and he shifted slightly, like he was considering leaving.

Iruka unlocked the door slowly, more than a little nervous about the conversation they were likely going to have, but knowing that they needed to start somewhere if he ever wanted things to get back to normal. Steeling himself, he opened the door and invited Kakashi inside.

~*~*~

Kakashi didn't see Iruka for the first few days after the mission. For the last few months when he was in town, he had seen Iruka nearly every other day and right before they'd left it had been almost every day, but he assumed Iruka would want some space after everything that had happened and Kakashi was willing to give it to him. But by the third day he found himself actively looking for Iruka around town. He was nowhere to be seen. He swung by Iruka's house but the lights were off and it appeared like no one was home. There was a strong buzz of wards around the apartment and Iruka only ever left them on when he was out. He wondered where Iruka could be.

When Kurenai caught him later that evening and asked if he was feeling okay, things started to click. She said she'd heard Iruka had been out sick since they'd gotten back because they were caught in a snowstorm. Had Kakashi caught the same thing? He absentmindedly assured her that he was well and wandered away from her, sorting things out in his head.

Iruka hadn't been sick, but he had been off suppressant for three days. There was only one logical conclusion to reach. He closed his eyes for a moment and ignored the want that twisted in his stomach at that thought. 

He realized he was walking towards Iruka's and forced himself to turn around and head home. Tomorrow would be the fourth day they were back in Konoha, if Iruka had gone into heat, he'd be done by then. Kakashi would check on him in the evening. He thought that sounded like a good, reasonable plan. No reason to check on Iruka before that, he told himself. He'd sleep, do the things he needed to do the next day, and then check on Iruka. It was a normal, logical, _friendly_ plan.

Kakashi barely slept that night then auto-piloted through his work for the day.

When he returned to Iruka's apartment he glanced at the wards with his Sharingan, realizing that they were strong enough he wouldn't be able to feel Iruka's chakra even if he were home. He hadn't known Iruka's wards were that strong. He knocked on the door but there was no answer. After a moment, on impulse, he jumped over to Iruka's bedroom window and tapped on it gently. 

He was almost ready to give up when the curtain moved, drawing back enough to show Iruka's face. His expression went from sleepy confusion to desperate want in the blink of an eye and the sight of him started razor sharp desire pooling in Kakashi's stomach. There was no mistaking the state Iruka was in.

Assuming Iruka had gone into heat had done nothing to prepare him for the actually sight of it.

His hair was down and messy, his eyes were bloodshot and blown wide. Kakashi realized the wards must be keeping in sound and scent when Iruka's mouth parted slightly, most likely moaning. Kakashi cursed internally, wanting to hear what that moan sounded like, wanting to smell what Iruka's scent was like at that moment. It had been alluring before, but in heat it must be sinfully so.

Kakashi's pulse raced, his breath was quick and shallow as he watched Iruka through the glass. Iruka wanted him. He could see it in his face. Kakashi couldn't help but respond to it. But then Iruka visibly pulled himself together enough to sign 'go' at Kakashi. The effect was immediate, like cold water hitting him without warning. The message was clear, _you're not wanted here_. 

He nodded sharply and leapt off Iruka's window sill, in a daze. He made it halfway home before he found that he couldn't go any farther. He stayed there for a moment, debating what to do and then turned around. He cloaked his chakra before he reached Iruka's place again, taking up residence in a tree near the apartment. 

Iruka was alone, he had been alone for days probably. The idea of it shouldn't bother him as much as it did. Iruka was safe. Logically he knew that. He was in the village, in a well-warded apartment, but it wasn't enough.

There was no one there to protect him when he was at his weakest. As his friend, as one of the probably very few people who knew what was going on, it was his duty to make sure that Iruka was okay even if Iruka didn't want him inside the apartment with him. He could do that much at least. It was what friends did for each other. They protected each other.

 _Friends_ , the voice that sounded like Obito snorted.

The alpha part of Kakashi's brain seemed to agree. _Not friends. Mine_. But Kakashi steadfastly ignored it. 

He waited, only leaving the tree for occasional restless sweeps of the perimeter. Even if Iruka had gone into heat the day after they returned, he should be finished by tomorrow. Kakashi decided he'd wait until that happened and then leave. But the fifth day turned into the sixth, which crept by slowly with no sign of change from the apartment. He started to worry. Iruka shouldn't be alone for this long, something must be wrong. Fighting the urge to just break into Iruka's apartment to make sure he was okay, he went to the only person he knew for sure had to know about Iruka. 

Tsunade made him wait outside her office for an hour before she was willing to see him. The entire time, there was a nervous energy around him that he couldn't control. He tried to slouch like he normally would, tried to channel all the Hipness that Gai said he had. Across the hall, the two blank white masks of the ANBU outside of her office seemed to mock his attempts at looking normal. Had he served with them? Were they wondering why he was nearly vibrating with tension? He decided it didn't matter.

He needed to get back to Iruka's. What if something was wrong? What if he needed help? Why was Tsunade making him wait at such an important time? 

Finally she let him in and looked at him expectantly. He realized maybe he should have used some of his waiting time to figure out what he wanted to say. 

"Umm," he started, "about Iruka..."

She raised an eyebrow at him but he pressed on.

"I think you should go... and check on him."

She looked at him blandly.

"I think he might be..." he glanced over at Shizune. Did she know? She was staring at him like he was an entirely new medical specimen that she had never seen before. "He might be... sick?" he finished lamely.

Shizune was fighting back a smile. Okay, she definitely knew. Tsunade didn't even try to hide her amusement. "He is fine. Now get out of my office."

Kakashi felt his chest constrict at that. He needed someone to check on Iruka even if he couldn't do it himself. "But it's been six days," he said, voice taking on a desperate quality that he would normally be ashamed of but there were more important things to worry about now. 

She stared at him coolly.

"Isn't that too long?" 

She didn't admit anything, just shrugged. 

"Shouldn't it only be three?"

She looked him over and he realized that it was probably all too obvious he hadn't slept in a bed in days but it seemed to make her take some measure of pity on him.

"He'll be fine by tomorrow, most likely. Stop worrying about it. Go home and get some sleep."

The 'you're dismissed' was implied and it was all Kakashi could do not to argue with her. She didn't understand, another day was too long, he needed to know Iruka was okay now. He was defiant enough that he didn't go home, instead going back to Iruka's. He'd go home when he knew Iruka was okay.

It was around noon on their seventh day back that he felt the majority of the wards drop, but it was not until Iruka threw the windows open that Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief and then breathed in deep again, but all he could smell was cleaner and deodorizer. He wrinkled his nose at the chemical scent then did as he promised himself he would and headed back to his own apartment where he showered and tried to get some sleep.

Sleep didn't come though and he was up, dressed and on his way back to Iruka's before he even knew what he was doing. He just needed to see Iruka was okay, he told himself, and _then_ he could sleep.

He was almost nervous when he knocked on Iruka's door. What if he wasn't okay? What if he didn't want Kakashi there? The memory of Iruka's hand pressing the 'go' sign against his window hit Kakashi hard again. It took Iruka so long to answer the door that Kakashi wondered if he shouldn't just leave him alone but then he heard the lock slowly being turned and Iruka was standing in the doorway inviting him inside. 

He couldn't take his eye off of Iruka, his hair was down, still wet from a recent shower. Kakashi looked him up and down. He couldn't see any signs of obvious injury until Iruka started to walk away from the door. He moved carefully, slowly and sat down with even more care, gesturing for Kakashi to take a seat on his couch. There wasn't anything even remotely sexual about Kakashi's instincts at that moment. He just wanted to wrap himself around Iruka until he knew the other wasn't hurting anymore. Carry him to bed and keep him there until he was fully rested, bringing him anything he wanted to eat until he was fine again.

With each step he took into the apartment, the more he could tell that there were still lingering traces of Iruka's scent and the scent of his heat underneath all the soap and detergent and deodorizer and Kakashi had to stop himself from inhaling too deeply.

 _You're here to make sure he is okay_ , Kakashi reminded himself as he sat down, _not to find out what he smells like when he is in heat_.

"I, umm," Kakashi started out, awkwardly, "I wanted to make sure you were... okay?"

Kakashi cringed internally at that. Even Gai would admit he was being completely unhip.

"Ah, yes," Iruka replied, just as stilted, "I'm okay now."

"Oh, good."

They sat in awkward silence for a few moments. Kakashi tried not to stare at Iruka, instead focusing on his kotatsu. There were two chips in the wood on the leg closest to him.

"I didn't know if you'd want me to come by," Kakashi admitted when the silence stretched out too long. Iruka winced.

"About the other day, sorry. It was just... bad timing, you know."

"No, it's my fault. If I had known..." Kakashi trailed off. _If I had known, I would have been here from the beginning_ , he wanted to say, but he didn't.

Iruka nodded in understanding even though Kakashi knew he thought he was going to say he wouldn't have come by at all.

"It was a bit... long, wasn't it?" Kakashi asked, and immediately regretted it when Iruka blushed bright red. Normally getting Iruka to blush felt like a victory, but this didn't feel like that at all. It wasn't something he should have asked, it wasn't something he had the right to know.

"Uh, it'd been about seven years," Iruka explained awkwardly, then looked like he regretted admitting it.

Kakashi blinked, stunned. He didn't know everything there was when it came to omegas and heat cycles, but he knew that they weren't supposed to go that long in between. 

He wanted to ask, but didn't. 

They sat in silence again, both trying desperately to find something else to talk about. _Anything else._

After a moment, Iruka made a noise of realization and started to get up from his chair. His movements were just as slow and careful as before and Kakashi wanted to tell him to sit down, he'd get him anything he needed, just stay where he was, but again he held himself back. 

Iruka headed out to his balcony and pulled down a uniform that was hanging out to dry, folding it then handing it over to Kakashi. It was still damp in Kakashi's hands.

"Oh, you washed it," he said without thinking, more than a little disappointed at the fact. "You didn't have to."

Iruka wasn't meeting his eye. "It was the least I could do, really."

He sat back down in the chair and looked at Kakashi again, expression serious, "Really, Kakashi, thank you."

Kakashi hadn't realized how good if felt to have Iruka call his name before that moment. He swallowed hard, trying to think of a way that he could tell Iruka that he would always be there whenever Iruka needed him, no matter what, but he was pulled out of the moment by a knock on a door.

Iruka started to stand again but Kakashi hopped up before he could move much, waving at him to sit back down and Iruka gave him a grateful look. 

Kakashi realized it was presumptuous of him to be answering Iruka's door, but there wasn't a lot he could actually do for Iruka right now, and if Iruka would allow him to do even this one thing, he'd take it.

He had to hold back a groan when he opened the door to see Tsunade and Shizune standing there.

Tsunade smirked at him. "I told you to go home and sleep," she said as she stepped into the apartment. 

Kakashi didn't bother telling her that he had at least attempt to sleep. Today. 

"Now leave before I assign you a mission to the far end of Lightning Country."

He wanted to protest but he also didn't want to push her, at least not right now. He looked at Iruka, unsure of what to do.

"It's okay," Iruka told him. "I have to talk to Tsunade-sama. See you tomorrow?"

Kakashi nodded and left the apartment. Tomorrow he could do. 

He let himself into his apartment, carefully hanging the uniform Iruka had washed on his clothes line then leaving a pile of his own clothes on the floor before falling into bed. 

Iruka was okay, he was seeing him again tomorrow.

Kakashi slept soundly for the first time in days.

~*~*~

In the morning, Kakashi slowly woke from a dream. He had Iruka fresh out of the shower, hair still down and damp. His scent was so soft that Kakashi had to bury his nose in Iruka's neck to really breathe him in. He steered him out of the bathroom and onto Iruka's bed where his scent was slightly stronger, but still too faint for Kakashi's liking.

Iruka wasn't making any noise and it was driving Kakashi crazy, he wanted to hear Iruka say his name, moan, anything. He needed to hear Iruka's voice. Iruka's scent was fading and Kakashi tried to inhale deeper.

He pulled back and looked down at him. Iruka said something, Kakashi's name by the shape of his lips, but Kakashi couldn't hear him. 

Then somehow Iruka was falling away from him, slipping through his fingers, and Kakashi couldn't reach him anymore. 

With a groan, Kakashi woke up fully. From the way the sunlight was hitting his room, he'd guess it was still before 8:00. He'd slept for more than 12 hours. 

He stretched, feeling like he hadn't moved in hours. The sheets dragged along his cock, still half hard from his dream but he ignored it. He was going to see Iruka in a few hours and he wanted to be able to look him in the face without thinking about how he had jerked off to a dream of him first thing in the morning. Things were awkward enough as it was, he didn't need to make it worse. 

The thought of seeing Iruka again was motivation enough to pull himself out of bed despite the early hour. He'd get some training in before heading over to Iruka's apartment, stopping to get food on the way. He didn't know how well Iruka had eaten over the last week, but he could make sure he ate well now.

~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it was Kakashi's turn to be overly stressed out this chapter. Next chapter jumps back a little bit and starts from Iruka's talk with Tsunade, then Kakashi and Iruka try to fall back into their old ways. Will post it on Thursday.
> 
> Comments and kudos are extremely welcome if you enjoyed this. Thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Shizune stepped outside after Kakashi left, closing the door behind her. Iruka watched Tsunade warily as she walked across the room and took a seat on the couch. He knew where this was going. The Third had known why Iruka was reluctant to go into heat again and he didn't push him on it. Iruka had been immensely thankful for that. He didn't think he'd be so lucky with Tsunade.

"So, seven years?" she asked, not bothering with any small talk.

Iruka nodded.

"And you know that you should never go more than two?"

Iruka nodded again.

"Then why?"

Iruka tried to keep his face blank, staring off to the side so he didn't have to meet her eyes.

"What happened the last time you went into heat?"

Of course she was smart enough to put two and two together.

"Talk to me now, or I'll require you to go to a therapist until they clear you."

Iruka sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, he might as well just get it over with.

"The last time, I was 17. My roommate was an alpha. I was trying to find a place I could go, but he told me it was fine, that I should just stay in the apartment. So I did."

Iruka paused, gathering his thoughts. "Luckily when he tried to force himself on me, it was still early in the heat and I was between waves. I don't think he expected me to fight back. I got him out of the room and put up a barrier before he could get back in."

The worst part had been that for a minute, part of Iruka had actually wanted it. He'd never thought about Mizuki that way, not even once, but he could clearly remember a part of his mind whispering to him that it wouldn't be so bad, he should just let Mizuki do what he wanted. After that day, he had never again trusted the judgment of that part of himself. Especially not when it came to alphas. It was easiest just to drown it out with suppressants and ignore it. He wouldn't let himself be controlled by his nature.

"Did you report him?" Tsunade asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Iruka shook his head. "I didn't want anyone to know I was an omega and I thought it'd come out if I reported him. He apologized, after it was over, said he'd lost control, hadn't realized he was going into rut, that the scent of me going into heat must have triggered it and he couldn't stop himself."

"You know that's bullshit, right? His excuse," Tsunade said bluntly, and Iruka was glad she wasn't suddenly handling him with care.

He let out a huff at her frankness and finally looked her in the eyes again, "Well, I do _now_. When I was 17? Not so much."

She studied his face for a moment and then nodded at what she saw. "I don't want to hear of you going longer than two years between heats after this, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Now get some rest. You're still on leave tomorrow but I expect you back at the Mission Desk for the morning shift the day after and ready for the next school term next week."

"Yes, ma'am," he said again, standing slowly and walking with her to the door.

That night Iruka slept like the dead for the second night in a row, still exhausted from the last week. He woke sore but significantly better than the day before, and after another large breakfast and a second dose of suppressant, he felt close to normal again. He was pretty sure his scent was under control as well, but he'd wait until tomorrow to go out just in case.

He ran through his usual morning stretches and exercises, testing out where his movements were limited but was pleased to find that he was a lot better off than he had thought he would be.

He'd be insanely busy for what little remained of the month, between Mission Desk shifts and trying to plan an entire term in five days instead of three weeks, but he'd worry about that tomorrow. For the rest of the day he planned to do nothing more than curl up on his couch with a book and not move more than necessary. It'd be a rare day of complete laziness for him, but after the last few weeks he felt he more than deserved it.

He was just starting to get hungry enough to debate the merits of moving when there was a knock on his door. As he opened the door he was hit with the scents of Kakashi and ramen. Two of his favorites, together, on his doorstep.

His stomach growled embarrassingly loudly before either of them could say anything and Kakashi beamed at him, holding up the bag. 

"I was going to ask if you'd had lunch yet, but I'll take that as a no." 

Iruka grinned a little sheepishly and let him in, he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of the bag in Kakashi's hands. He realized it'd been literally a month since he'd had his favorite food and had to restrain himself from snatching the bag away from Kakashi.

"Sensei," Kakashi said, exaggerated hurt in his voice, "I think you're more excited to see the ramen than you are to see me."

Iruka didn't even try to deny it. "In all fairness, I didn't just spend 18 days on a mission with ramen."

Kakashi laughed softly, setting the food down on Iruka's kotatsu. "If there were an 18 day long ramen mission, you'd have to fight Naruto to get it." He passed the first take-out bowl over to Iruka.

Iruka made a noise in reply but was too busy shoveling an entire serving of noodles into his mouth to actually answer. He finished it in a time that would have made even the aforementioned blond proud.

"Our love was brief but beautiful," he told his now empty bowl, mournfully.

He looked up to realize Kakashi was staring at him, not even trying to hide his amusement. He briefly considered being embarrassed, but then Kakashi was pushing a second bowl at him and he decided embarrassment could wait. 

He ate the second serving more slowly, but not by much. He remembered that he'd been hungry after his last heat, but it didn't compare to this, his body trying to replenish all the energy it had used. He was grateful that Kakashi had brought seconds.

"You really are a genius, aren't you?" He said after his finished, curling up in his armchair in complete bliss.

Kakashi chuckled. "This is what causes you to realize that? Take-out ramen?"

" _Two bowls_ of take-out ramen."

"Better not let your students find that out, you'd have to pass them all."

Iruka grinned at him. "Sixty bowls of ramen a year _and_ no more papers or tests to grade? Where do I sign up?"

"Getting Council approval on your new curriculum might be an issue," Kakashi said, standing and gathering up the empty bowls.

"My new curriculum that sets aside paper tests in order to focus more on practical, real world skills that they will need to excel in daily shinobi life?"

"On second thought, they might actually approve that if you slap a good name on it," Kakashi called behind him as he brought the bowls into the kitchen to toss.

"I'm thinking about calling it the Reality Attuned Mandatorily Educated Nindo Program," Iruka announced when Kakashi returned and took his usual seat on Iruka's couch.

"What about something flashier? Ridiculously Amazing Magically Enhanced Ninjutsu?"

"Reasonably Academic Mission Engaged Ninjas?" 

There was a brief pause like Kakashi was considering something before he spoke again. "You know, if you start teaching adults, you could make it your Ready And Massively Engorged Ninja Program."

Iruka snorted in amusement. "That's not already in one of those books of yours?"

"You'll just have to read them to find out, sensei," Kakashi teased, seeming to settle a little more comfortably into the couch as he spoke.

Iruka shook his head. "I'm still good, thanks."

Kakashi hung out in his apartment for the rest of the afternoon. They played a few games of shogi together. Playing on a real board didn't help Iruka's chances of winning any, but he still enjoyed it. Victory for Iruka was measured in the number of times Kakashi actually stopped to consider his next move and the length of time he could manage to avoid complete defeat, aiming to make each game last just a little longer, to give Kakashi just a little bit more trouble.

Kakashi ran out to get them dinner, even though Iruka protested, saying he could just cook something at home, though in truth he was running low on food. He even managed not to completely inhale the food when Kakashi returned with it.

Throughout the evening Iruka couldn't believe how comfortable everything felt. He had thought things would be awkward between them, but it was as if nothing had changed at all. Maybe the ramen had been the icebreaker they needed, or maybe they were both just ignoring everything that had happened over the last few weeks. Iruka didn't know, but for whatever reason Kakashi wasn't treating him differently than he had before their mission and Iruka was relieved.

After dinner Iruka found himself fighting back yawns. 

"Do you work tomorrow?"

Iruka nodded. "Mission Desk shift at 8:00."

"In that case, I should let you get some rest," Kakashi said, starting to excuse himself. 

Iruka swallowed hard. It was now or never. "Can I ask you for a personal favor?"

Kakashi stopped and looked at him. "Of course, anything."

"Could you..." Iruka felt himself going red but pushed on, "couldyousmellme?"

Kakashi blinked. "What?"

Iruka took a breath. "Could you smell me? Like really _smell_ me. I'm pretty sure that the suppressants are working again but I'm paranoid about tomorrow and want to make sure." He was definitely blushing right now and the shell-shocked look on Kakashi's face wasn't helping. He was just about to say never mind when Kakashi seemed to snap out of it and nodded.

"Sure," Kakashi said, "but could you turn around first?" 

There was tension in his voice and Iruka assumed it was because Kakashi was uncomfortable. Friends generally didn't go around asking to be smelled. 

Iruka turned away from him. He felt Kakashi move more than he heard him, realizing Kakashi was right behind him, his hair just barely in Iruka's peripheral vision as he brought his head close to Iruka's neck. Iruka found himself wanting to tilt his head to the side to make sure Kakashi had full access. He forced himself to stay still. 

He heard Kakashi take in a deep scenting breath and god, he had not thought this through completely, he hadn't thought about what having Kakashi like this would do to him. They were so close, he would barely have to lean back to bring their bodies together. He fought to keep his eyes open, he fought to keep himself from leaning back, he fought basically every urge he was having at the moment.

He felt the gentle rush of Kakashi's exhalation on the back of his neck. It made him want to shiver. He was seriously debating whether this was the best or worst decision of his life. 

Kakashi inhaled again. 

_Best_ , he decided, _definitely best_. 

Then he was pulling away and Iruka remembered that Kakashi breathing was not a suitable substitute for his own respiration. He took a breath. All he could smell was Kakashi.

He turned around a little abruptly and saw Kakashi readjusting his mask. That's when it hit him, the reason he could feel Kakashi's breath so clearly on his skin. His mask had been down.

Iruka swallowed at the thought, trying to push the metal image of Kakashi without his mask out of his head. He was afraid Kakashi would notice his reaction, but Kakashi seemed to be deep in thought and Iruka temporarily forgot to be flustered as concern started to overtake him. The suppressants must not be working right.

"So?" Iruka prompted, unable to stand waiting.

Kakashi's eye narrowed, like he was trying to figure out a difficult puzzle.

"You smell... different." He noticed Iruka's expression and quickly moved to explain, "No, I don't mean you smell like an omega, the suppressants are working. But there is something different about your scent."

"I don't smell like me?" Iruka wasn't even sure that was possible.

"No, you do, but it's changed somehow. I don't even think anyone would notice it if they weren't looking for it, but there is something different. Or new, maybe? It's subtle."

Iruka wasn't sure what to say to that. Scents didn't change. Maybe being on suppressants for so long had done something to his, but he didn't know if that could happen. 

Kakashi was staring at him, still clearly trying to place the difference and the weight of his gaze was making Iruka's skin tingle. The moment between them grew longer until finally Kakashi seemed to realize what he was doing.

"Right," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'll be going then."

"Right," Iruka agreed, though he wanted to say Kakashi should stay and smell him again. Just in case. To really make sure his scent was back to normal.

As Kakashi was almost out the door he paused. "Are you free on Friday?"

"I need to check the schedule, but probably have the evening Mission Desk shift." Everyone hated the Friday evening and Saturday morning shifts. More often than not Iruka picked them up.

"Lunch then?" Kakashi asked and Iruka agreed. Something to look forward to during what was most likely going to be a very tiring next few days.

He shut the door behind Kakashi, smiling to himself until a yawn broke the grin. 

_Right_ , he thought, _time for bed_.

~*~*~

Kakashi went home with Iruka's scent still in his head. The day had been far more than he'd hoped for. At first he had felt like he needed to test the waters, but soon it was as natural as any of the other times they had hung out before the mission. Distracting Iruka with ramen while he was trying to find where the lines were now drawn had been good plan. He still had things he wanted to ask Iruka, but any of those questions might break the ease that had fallen between them, and as curious as he was, it wasn't worth it.

He knew he was going to have to reign his protective instincts back in starting tomorrow but he'd been able to indulge them for one day at least. Bringing Iruka food had felt good, seeing how happy he was with the food felt even better. Kakashi suspected he could bring Iruka every meal of every day for the rest of his life and he wouldn't even be close to getting sick of it. 

But having Iruka actually ask him to smell him. His brain had almost shut down in that moment. Kakashi had a long list of things that he never would have dreamed of Iruka asking him to do in real life and while smelling him was definitely not one of the more explicit things on that list, he wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste.

Taking his mask down to smell Iruka properly, without the cloth in the way, had been an impulse decision, one he couldn't truly justify as just him wanting to make good and sure that there was no trace of omega pheromones left in Iruka's scent. But if this were the last chance he would ever be given to smell Iruka openly, he'd make damn sure he took full advantage of it.

Iruka's scent was different, Kakashi hadn't lied about that. There was something deep beneath the neutralized beta scent that he had always given off. It wasn't an omega scent, it wasn't anything Kakashi had smelled before. It was uniquely Iruka and it had made him inhale twice when he had only meant to do so once. It had been hard enough to pull back after just twice.

He already knew it was going to drive him crazy until he could pin-point exactly what the difference was. 

He fell asleep wishing his face was pressed against Iruka's neck instead of the pillows on his bed.

~*~*~

The difference in Iruka's scent haunted Kakashi, following him around town like a specter. When he had thought Iruka was a beta, his scent had still been unique to him, but there was nothing particularly remarkable about it. It was a very nice scent, but in the end it was just another beta scent that would get lost in the crowd of scents that filled the town.

But it was different now. Iruka still had the same beta-like scent that he always had, but it didn't fade into all of the others anymore. Whatever was hidden just beneath his neutralized scent seemed to call to Kakashi, daring him to figure out its riddle.

Within a week Kakashi had lost track of the number of times he had been walking through the town only to catch the faintest hint of Iruka's scent, like a wisp of smoke that teased him to follow only to disappear around the next corner.

There were times when he was at Iruka's apartment that it almost drove him insane, a constant itch he couldn't quite scratch. It lingered on his clothes so he could smell Iruka even hours after he left.

As the days continued to pass, that little part of Iruka's scent seemed to be getting stronger.

"Has anyone commented on your scent recently?" Kakashi asked one night after they had finished eating a meal they had cooked together and his head was too full of Iruka to think better of it.

"Why would they?" Iruka asked, looking confused, almost offended.

"It's just..." Kakashi trailed off as Iruka stared at him. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything.

"It's just _what_?" 

"You still smell different," Kakashi said.

Iruka frowned. "No one else has said anything. Why are you asking now?"

Kakashi hesitated. They hadn't talked about any of this since the night Iruka had asked him to check his scent. An unspoken agreement that it was best just to pretend nothing had changed. But ignoring this might cause Iruka problems. It was better to just say it, he decided. 

"Whatever is different about your scent, it's getting more noticeable."

Iruka shook his head. "But that doesn't make sense. There is no reason my scent would just be getting stronger."

Kakashi thought for a moment, there was one thing that he could think of that might make omega scents get progressively stronger. "It might if you were going into heat again."

"That's not possible," Iruka said sharply, "I'm back on suppressants and even if I weren't, it hasn't even been three weeks since last time."

Kakashi shrugged and they both tried to move on to a different topic. Iruka was more subdued for the rest of the night, almost introspective, and Kakashi was sorry he had even brought it up.

~*~*~

Iruka got ready for bed still thinking about Kakashi's comment. It was ridiculous, right? It had to be. Even off suppressants, heats only happened about every four months. There was absolutely no reason he would be going into heat again.

He stripped out of his clothes and tossed them into the laundry basket, heading to the bathroom as his mind still turned over Kakashi's words. What did he mean Iruka's scent was different? No one else had said anything similar and some of his friends definitely would have. Hell, the few times he'd run into Anko after sex with someone else's scent still on him, he had ended up with her backing him against a wall and smelling him until she figured out whose scent it was or he told her who just to get her off of him. They'd just hung out a few days ago. There was no way she wouldn't have noticed a difference.

Iruka turned on the shower and stepped in, thoughts lost for a moment as the warm water hit his back. He sighed and let the water relax him, but it didn't last long, mind snapping back to Kakashi after just a few moments.

What was Kakashi thinking anyway? He had to be imagining things. Maybe he'd just never really paid attention to Iruka's scent before. Maybe he hadn't really noticed it until Iruka had asked him to make sure his suppressants were working again.

The thought of that moment caused a visceral reaction in Iruka, his stomach clenching tight at the memory of Kakashi's face so close to his neck, Kakashi smelling him. He felt individual drops of water hit his skin, some running over the curve of his ass, others sliding down his inner thighs. Water dripped off his cock. He bit his lip and started stroking himself before he even realized what he was doing. 

He could almost feel Kakashi behind him again, pressed up against him. He would push Iruka's hair aside and press his face to Iruka's neck, biting at it while Iruka ground back against his cock. He'd fuck Iruka hard in the shower and then take him to bed to do it again, only achingly slow the second round. Iruka would still be stretched from the shower, Kakashi would slide right back in. Iruka moaned, stroking himself harder. 

If Kakashi were in rut, he'd probably fuck Iruka until they both forgot their own names. If Kakashi were in rut, he'd probably knot Iruka. The idea hit Iruka hard and with a choked cry he came with enough force that his vision went momentarily black.

 _Well, fuck_ , Iruka thought as he stared blankly at the water swirling down the drain. He'd always thought the idea of knotting sounded uncomfortable, annoying even. But the idea of Kakashi doing it to him... his cock gave another twitch, like it was trying to get hard again and Iruka groaned. He'd just come harder than he had since his last heat and he still felt like he wanted more. 

Maybe it wasn't such a crazy idea that he was going into heat again after all. He'd talk to Tsunade after work the next day and see if she thought he was going insane or not.

Until then, he washed twice with scent-neutralizing soap just in case.

~*~*~

Iruka stepped into Tsunade's office after his Mission Desk shift. He'd been thinking about what he'd say to her all day. He'd decided it was best just to be direct.

"Could I speak to you privately?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow but nodded and signaled her ANBU away, looking at him expectantly.

"I don't think my suppressants are working correctly. I might be going into heat again."

She got up from her desk and walked towards to him, looking him over then inhaling. "You don't smell like you're going into heat. What symptoms do you have?"

Iruka blushed, but made himself list them. "Hypersensitivity to touch, pre-heat sex drive, increased awareness of alpha pheromones." He'd noticed the pheromones during his shift. Normally they didn't bother him unless they were directed at him, but tonight it had been like he couldn't escape them, far too many around him. Tsunade thankfully kept her scent as neutral as Kakashi did and it was a relief to Iruka's overstimulated senses.

She frowned at that. "Well, you have the trifecta then. Let me run some tests."

She scanned him with chakra, frown increasing as she did. She'd done this to him before, but it had never taken this long. It was like she was double checking everything. Finally she finished. 

"You are definitely in the first stages of heat. If you weren't on suppressants, I'd say you'd be going into heat by next week."

"How is that even possible? I haven't missed a day and it hasn't even been a month since last time."

She shook her head. "I'm not sure. Possibly it has to do with how long you waited before your last one. Your body could be trying to override the suppressants in order to equalize itself."

"So I'm just going to go into heat no matter what? The suppressants won't work on me anymore?"

"It's hard to say. There have been very few recorded cases of omegas waiting so long between heats before. There are reasons why you are only supposed to go a year or two max. It really messes with your body."

Iruka grimaced. He knew that. "There's nothing I can do?"

She paused, considering his options. "You could try going off the pills again. Go into heat and then see what happens after."

He fought back a groan, trying to figure out the best way to fit it into his schedule. "There is no class next Monday at the Academy. With your permission, I'll take Friday off as well and switch out my Mission Desk shifts for the weekend."

"Permission granted. I can give you a modified version of the suppressant you are currently on that will still suppress your scent but not the heat. If you take it Wednesday and Thursday, that should help things along enough that you should go into heat Friday, or by the latest Saturday."

Iruka nodded and thanked her before leaving her office. Going into heat again was not at all how he had wanted to spend the weekend, but if it would sort everything out, it'd be worth it.

~*~*~

Thursday night Kakashi lounged on Iruka's couch as Iruka graded a stack of papers. He read while listening to Iruka's muttered commentary over the state of his students' penmanship and logical reasoning. Maybe they'd play a game or something later, but it didn't really matter. Kakashi always enjoyed these quiet moments when Iruka's apartment felt more like home than even his own did.

Iruka finished grading and stood up, stretching. Kakashi eyed the arch of his back.

"Do you have plans this weekend?" Kakashi asked.

Iruka froze mid-stretch then looked over at Kakashi. He rubbed at his scar. "Yeah, actually, I'll be... busy, this weekend." He was blushing.

Everything clicked into place. The embarrassment, the way Iruka was just a little bit more restless than usual that night, the difference in his scent was the strongest it had been since their mission. Iruka was going into heat. He'd probably be locked up alone in his apartment again all weekend.

Kakashi felt his protectiveness surge before he could stop it, felt it slip past the iron grip he kept on his pheromones whenever he was around Iruka. From the way Iruka's eyes widened, there was no way he hadn't noticed. Kakashi clawed his scent back under control as quickly as he could. They stared a each other for a few moments, neither knowing what to say.

"Well," Kakashi said, trying to break the silence, "if you need anything, let me know."

Iruka blinked hard and Kakashi realized how that could sound.

"I mean. Not like _that_." Kakashi was glad for his mask. His face was probably a shade of red that even Iruka's rarely turned. 

Iruka raised an eyebrow at him.

Kakashi resisted the urge to squirm. He was a battle hardened warrior. He didn't squirm. "Not that helping like _that_ would be bad."

Iruka just stared at Kakashi like he'd never seen him before. This was his punishment for all the times he'd teased Iruka into blushing, wasn't it?

"I mean if you need, like food? Or anything?" Oh god, why was he still talking? Talking was just making it worse. He'd faced countless enemies, completed over a thousand missions, but Iruka was going to be the cause of his death. Death by embarrassment. Gai would declare he was no longer hip enough to be his rival.

And then Iruka laughed, shaking his head at him and Kakashi thought maybe he would live after all.

"Food would be nice. Maybe Monday afternoon? If you aren't on a mission," Iruka said, wide grin on his face.

"No, no missions this weekend. I can do Monday."

"Sounds good," Iruka said and Kakashi let out a breath. Maybe he couldn't be with Iruka during his heat, but he'd take care of him after as long as Iruka let him.

~*~*~

Friday morning found Iruka curled up on the side his couch where Kakashi always sat, the one that put his back to a corner and gave him a good view of all the windows and doors. There were traces of his scent all over it.

When he had asked Iruka if he needed anything, aside from the rapid succession of mental images his mind provided of exactly all the things Kakashi could do for him, the main thing he had found himself wanting to ask for was another one of Kakashi's uniforms, or even just a shirt. But there was no way he could actually ask him for something like that. 

Still the first wave of his heat hadn't even hit yet and he was already missing it. He buried his face into one of the couch pillows and inhaled, remembering the uncharacteristic spike of protectiveness Kakashi had given off the night before. It was so rare to get emotion off of his scent. Iruka wanted more. He grinned again at the memory of Kakashi's embarrassment, wondering how red Kakashi could blush underneath his mask.

Iruka stayed like that, chasing Kakashi's scent in the fabric of the couch until he felt the first wave of his heat start to hit a few hours later. Reluctantly he got up and went into his bedroom, carrying one of the pillows with him and shutting the door to help resist the urge to return. The couch may have smelled vaguely like Kakashi, but he didn't want to think about how much of a pain it would be to clean it if he stayed there during his heat. He'd probably have to burn the thing afterwards.

Settling into his bed with the couch pillow next to him, he let the heat take over.

~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way longer to post than it should have with all the 503 errors I was getting. orz
> 
> Next chapter will start out with Kakashi visiting Iruka after his heat and then they will _finally_ start addressing some of the things that they need to address. Will post it this weekend. :) 
> 
> Also, I went back and forth on knotting SO MUCH. Should I use it, should I skip it? In the end I decided to go with it. Hopefully it's not a huge squick for too many people. I won't be going super crazy with it though and this isn't one of the ones were alphas have HUGE, MASSIVE, ENORMOUS Cocks of Doom, if that helps. Totally normal-sized ninja penises all around. ^__^;
> 
> Thank you for reading! As always, comments and kudos are very much appreciated if you enjoyed this. ♥


	5. Chapter 5

On Monday morning, Iruka woke after a full night's sleep, almost surprised that his heat was already over. He'd counted seven waves, which was definitely on the low end, and only Saturday had been particularly intense. It hadn't been enjoyable, but it also hadn't been as bad as he had been expecting. If unsuppressed heats were more like this, he could understand why most omegas didn't use suppressants.

He stretched and showered, took his suppressant with breakfast, then started cleaning, dropping his apartment wards about midway through. It was still an hour before noon when he finished with the cleaning and laundry. Feeling relaxed, he sunk into his couch only to have someone knock on his door a few minutes later.

 _Kakashi_ , he thought to himself, grinning. He got up and opened the door.

Kakashi greeted him with a little wave and held up the bag of ramen he'd brought as an offering.

Iruka managed to breathe during the first bowl, but just barely. The second bowl he even ate at a normal, non-Naruto rate. 

When he finished he smiled at Kakashi. "You have amazing timing. I barely dropped my wards an hour ago and you're already here with food." He must have gone to Ichiraku the moment it opened.

"Well, you did say lunch on Monday." 

Eleven was not lunch for Kakashi, breakfast maybe. He'd assumed Kakashi would show up around 1:00 or 2:00. Iruka glanced over at him, amused, and then really _looked_ at him for the first time since he had arrived. There was a shadow under his eye, like Kakashi was the one that hadn't slept properly for most of the weekend. His uniform was rumpled enough that he couldn't have put a new one on that morning.

"I thought you said you didn't have any missions this weekend?"

"I wasn't assigned any missions."

Iruka narrowed his eyes, that was an odd phrasing to use.

"Then why do you look like you slept in a tree the last few nights?"

Kakashi froze, his visible eye widening. 

"You _did_ sleep in a tree for the last few nights, didn't you?"

Kakashi was avoiding eye contact. He looked like one of Iruka's students trying to find any reason at all as to why he hadn't done his homework.

"Where were you?" Iruka was aware that Kakashi probably went on many missions he couldn't talk about and that he shouldn't push him on something like that, but the way that Kakashi was studying his hands didn't say top-secret mission, it said embarrassed.

"The thing is," Kakashi started, "I may have been reading, in a tree, and just happened to fall asleep there. For the last few nights."

Iruka looked at the empty food containers on his kotatsu, remembering the uncharacteristic spike of protectiveness he had smelled in Kakashi's scent on Thursday night. They all pointed towards something Iruka couldn't quite believe. He asked anyway.

"Was this sleep-inducing tree within visual range of my apartment?"

Kakashi's eye darted towards him and then away again. "Maybe."

Iruka blinked, too stunned to respond immediately. Kakashi had felt the need to guard him during his heat. It was a little ridiculous, really, the idea of Kakashi standing watch over Iruka's perfectly safe apartment. Ridiculous, and if it had been anyone else, Iruka probably would have called it a little creepy even. But somehow the thought of Kakashi in full mission mode, closely observing the completely mundane comings and goings of Iruka's neighborhood was making him feel almost giddy with how adorably ridiculous the whole thing was.

He was still trying to process it all when another thought hit him. 

"It was your birthday yesterday!" he said, feeling horrified at himself for not remembering earlier. He'd been so caught up in his own drama that he hadn't realized what the date was.

"Ah, yeah, it was," Kakashi said.

"You spent your birthday in a tree?" Iruka was pretty sure this qualified him for the worst friend ever award.

Kakashi shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "With my mission schedule, it wasn't the first time. Probably won't be the last."

"Still. I'll buy you dinner later this week. And next year, we'll have a proper celebration or whatever you want."

Kakashi looked like he was about to say that wasn't necessary but Iruka gave him a stern look. 

"I'm looking forward to it," Kakashi said instead.

Iruka studied at him for a moment. "Thank you. For everything," he said sincerely, keeping it simple. Kakashi beamed at him in reply. He realized that deep beneath Kakashi's controlled scent, he could catch just the faintest hint of happiness. It was impossible not to respond to and he found himself sharing a grin with Kakashi. 

Throughout the day, Iruka repeatedly felt Kakashi's eye on him.

"Just ask," he finally said. "You clearly have questions."

Kakashi hesitated for a moment, like he wasn't sure if Iruka really meant it, but then asked, "How many people know?"

"You. Tsunade-sama and Shizune, obviously. The Third did as well, but he kept it off all of my paperwork, so even people with access to my file wouldn't know. I told Tsunade-sama shortly after she became hokage and she said she wouldn't update my information unless it became necessary. I transform when I go to buy suppressants and scent-neutralizing things, so even the shopkeeper doesn't know."

"That's it?" Kakashi asked, sounding surprised.

"Mizuki knew as well," Iruka admitted, "And I think Anko figured it out when I was 17, but she has never actually called me on it."

"Out of an entire village full of ninjas, including one of the best Intelligence Divisions in the world, _Anko_ is the only one who figured it out?"

"I guess," Iruka said, "she caught me at a bad time." They were edging their way into territory he was less comfortable talking about and Kakashi seemed to pick that up. 

A predatory stillness came over him as he did the math on that, his voice was deadly serious and Iruka could smell hints of protectiveness coming off him again. "She didn't do anything to you, did she?"

"Oh, no. Of course not," Iruka denied quickly. "She's always been a little bit like an older sister to me."

He paused and then decided to rip the bandage off. "She actually beat the shit out of someone who did try something though. We've never talked about it, but the timing was too coincidental for it not to have been connected."

"Mizuki?" Kakashi asked and Iruka grimaced slightly at the name.

"Yeah," he admitted. "I fought him off, but..." Iruka trailed off, not knowing how he even wanted to finish that sentence.

"He's the reason you avoided going into heat so long?" The protective pheromones coming off Kakashi were getting stronger.

Iruka nodded once. "At first. I never felt safe enough. But the longer I put it off, the more I started dreading it for other reasons." He wasn't sure when, but at some point it had change from fear that he wouldn't be safe, to fear that everyone would know.

"And he's also the reason why you react the way you do around certain alpha scents?"

Iruka made a face. He had hoped he was more subtle than that. Apparently not. 

There was a flash of anger in Kakashi's scent and then absolutely nothing, not even his controlled scent, like he'd just realized he'd lost control and then quickly over-corrected. 

The ability to completely conceal scents wasn't a common skill among ninjas. Everyone gave off some kind of pheromones, giving off none at all just made a shinobi stand out as an anomaly. It was better to control it and blend in. There was only one group that routinely needed to hide their scents completely. It was one of the things that many people found disturbing about the ANBU, they didn't smell human. Before this, Iruka would have bet his entire savings on the fact that Kakashi had been ANBU, now he'd be willing to bet all of Naruto's too.

After a moment Kakashi's controlled scent returned. "That asshole is lucky he is in jail right now," he said finally, tone grim.

Iruka could agree with that. They sat in silence for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. 

Finally Kakashi looked at him from the corner of his eye, clearly trying to break the mood that had fallen over them. "You know, if Intelligence ever does find out, they're going to want you for undercover work." 

Iruka let out a huff of amusement, he had almost sounded serious. "My herd of brats is dangerous enough for me, thanks." 

Kakashi gave him an unreadable look, but didn't push the topic any further.

That night, after Kakashi had left and Iruka was in bed, he let himself think about the flickers of emotions he had read off of Kakashi's scent during the day. Strong alpha pheromones directed at him usually made him uncomfortable. Kakashi's didn't. All it did was make him think he could trust Kakashi with anything and wish Kakashi would let his control slip just a little more often.

~*~*~

Iruka had just finished the early Saturday shift at the Mission Desk when Kakashi fell into step beside him. The summer heat was finally fading as October approached and Iruka hoped whatever they ended up doing for the day would be outside.

Kakashi grinned at him like he was reading his mind. "Let's train."

"What?" Iruka laughed. He couldn't have heard that right.

"Let's train," Kakashi repeated. "Field 14 is open."

"What, is Gai on a mission right now and you haven't reached your quota of bizarre challenges for the week?"

"I'm serious. Let's train together. We never have before."

"Kakashi, you could be chakra depleted and suffering from the flu, and you'd still win easily."

"Now, sensei, what would you tell your students if they were facing a stronger opponent?"

"If they were a chuunin with a _kage level_ opponent? Strategic retreat."

Kakashi let out a small huff of air. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not kage level then."

Iruka rolled his eyes, they both knew that wasn't true.

"I've seen you take out an alpha jounin before," Kakashi reminded him.

"An alpha jounin who was severely handicapped by his own stupidity. I don't think the same trick will work on you."

"Are you too afraid to fight me?" Kakashi teased, switching tactics.

"Kakashi, I'm not Naruto. Trying to bait me like that won't work."

"What if I buy you ramen after?"

"You were going to buy me ramen anyway."

"Says who?"

"Says the last 10 times we've gone out for ramen."

"Well, in that case you owe me 10 training sessions."

Iruka looked at him, horrified. "You can't retroactively attach conditions to free ramen. That's just not right."

"Come on, sensei, you never know until you try. Train with me." 

How Kakashi appeared to be slouching and yet a second away from bouncing in excitement at the same time, Iruka would never know. He felt his resolve crumbling.

"Training with you seems like a guaranteed way for me to spend most of the afternoon getting my ass handed to me."

"I promise I'll be very gentle with your ass, sensei," Kakashi told him solemnly. "You'll probably even enjoy my treatment of it."

Iruka sputtered. That was it. He'd land at least one hit on Kakashi for that remark, even if it was the last thing he did.

~*~*~

Iruka found himself forcefully making his acquaintance with the ground yet again. Fighting Kakashi was like fighting a force of nature, even when he wasn't going all out. In two hours Iruka had managed two hits, one glancing and one direct but to a non-critically area. He'd been taken down immediately after both, not for the first or last time. He'd lost track of how many opportunities he'd had to enjoy the sky from the ground's perspective. It'd save time if he just stayed like this, he decided.

"Go get me a white flag so I can give up already," he groaned as Kakashi looked down on him.

Kakashi extended a hand, presumably to help him up.

Iruka looked at it suspiciously, trying to determine if taking it would just land him in the dirt again.

"Come on, sensei," Kakashi said. "I owe you a bowl of ramen."

"A bowl of ramen, a plate of gyoza," Iruka listed, groaning as he stood. "And a massage."

"You can't retroactively attach new conditions to training. That's just not right," Kakashi said in mock horror.

Iruka snorted. "Well, if I'm going to have to go through this nine more times, I better be getting fairly compensated."

Kakashi looked at him, surprised. "Really?"

"Don't look so excited about kicking my ass again," Iruka muttered.

"See, sensei, I told you you'd enjoy my treatment of your ass."

Iruka punched him in the shoulder and Kakashi was nice enough not to dodge. Iruka was counting it. _Three hits._

~*~*~

They grabbed take-out from Ichiraku and headed back to Iruka's place.

Iruka was drinking the broth on his ramen when he heard Kakashi shift on the couch and unsnap one of his pouches.

"Okay, sensei, shirt off."

Iruka choked on the last of the broth, looking over at Kakashi who was holding up a tube of medicinal cream and eye-smiling. 

"What?" Iruka asked, feeling himself start to blush.

"You said I owe you a massage," Kakashi said slowly, like Iruka was missing the most obvious thing in the world.

Iruka stared at him blankly for a minute, the longer he stared, the more Kakashi's scent seemed to waver, not giving away any particular emotion, but it was enough for Iruka to have a realization. Kakashi was bluffing. He didn't think Iruka would go through with it. All the times he had said things to get a reaction out of Iruka, he'd never expected Iruka to reply in kind.

Well, Iruka thought, two could play at that game.

He stood and stretched. "Where do you want me?"

Kakashi looked at Iruka like he'd never seen him before.

"On the couch? On the floor?" Iruka suggested, borrowing heavily from Kakashi's innocent act. 

Kakashi looked shell-shocked, his scent was doing all sorts of things that Iruka couldn't quite put a name to. 

Oh, yes, Iruka though, he was going to enjoy this for all it was worth. He started to unzip his vest, maintaining eye contact with Kakashi the whole time.

Kakashi jumped up from the couch and reached out a hand to stop Iruka, then seemed to think better of it and quickly pulled his hand back. "What are you doing?" he asked, more than a little strangled sounding.

"You said shirt off," Iruka said, faking confusion.

"Right," Kakashi replied. "For the massage." His eye followed Iruka's hand as he finished unzipping his vest and pulled it off, tossing it on to his armchair.

Iruka went to remove his shirt next. Like some of his pranks as a child, he hadn't really thought this one all the way through. Maybe he should stop before things got out of control, but the emotions in Kakashi's scent kept shifting just below its controlled surface and Iruka wanted to see if he could tease them out. He slipped his shirt over his head and tossed it onto his vest.

Kakashi's visible eye was darting everywhere but Iruka, like he didn't know where to look.

"So," Iruka prompted, "Couch? Floor? Oh, or my bed would work too."

He could actually hear Kakashi swallow. "Floor. Floor is fine."

And that was the moment Iruka realized the flaw in his plan. Sure, teasing Kakashi was fun, but he didn't like people seeing his back. Even two years later, it was still too fresh. He hesitated, then forced a laugh. Deflection was always a good strategy.

"You know, Kakashi, if you don't want to do this, it's fine. You already bought me ramen like promised."

That seemed to snap Kakashi out of it, made him look Iruka in the eye and damn, Iruka thought, he definitely just figured out that Iruka had only called his bluff with one of his own. He expected another round of teasing but instead Kakashi became serious, his voice soft and steady.

"No, I'd like to, if you'll let me."

There was protectiveness in his scent again and it was Iruka's turn to swallow hard.

"Okay, yeah," Iruka said, movements a little jerky as he grabbed a pillow off the couch and laid down on his stomach on the floor.

He felt Kakashi's eye on him, on his back, and Iruka resisted the urge to squirm. He knew scars were common in their world, but he hated this. The few times he'd slept with people since he'd gotten it, he'd tried to keep them from seeing his back. When he didn't there was pity, or one time a bad joke asking who had stabbed him in the back. He hadn't said his friend, that would have killed the mood.

Kakashi sunk down next to him, tracing the scar lightly with his fingers. Iruka fought back a shiver at the touch. The protective scent coming off Kakashi was just getting stronger.

"Most of my worst ones are internal," Kakashi said softly, hand settling over the scar, a rough thumb rubbing against Iruka's back.

Iruka inhaled sharply, that was something he could understand all too well.

Kakashi removed his hand for a moment and Iruka could hear him taking off his gloves and opening the cap on the cream before putting both his hands on Iruka's shoulders. His hands were sure and strong, leaving behind the faint tingle of healing chakra as they found the worst of Iruka's aches and worked in the cream. 

Iruka relaxed into his touch, not completely able to bite back the noises he made when Kakashi started working out some of the more persistent knots that always seemed to accumulate in his shoulders by the end of the week. His entire world came down to Kakashi's calloused hands on his back and Kakashi's scent surrounding him. He breathed deeply and let it wash over him. There was still protectiveness, but also contentment and something beneath everything else that Iruka couldn't identify. 

When Kakashi was finished, Iruka was certain there wasn't a single bone left in his body. He hummed in happiness and tilted his head to the side enough that he could look back at Kakashi.

"If this is what it gets me, we can train every single day," Iruka said, voice low and rough.

The spike of lust in Kakashi's scent was immediate and Iruka's eyes widen at it. For all the times Kakashi had joked about sex or teased Iruka, he'd never once smelled like he meant it. Never gave off a hint desire. But for one brief moment this time, he did. 

Then just as quickly Kakashi's scent went blank again, almost making Iruka wonder if he had imagined it. 

Kakashi stood up and went into the kitchen to wash his hands, giving Iruka a chance to put his shirt back on and them both time to regroup. Normally the scent of alpha lust made Iruka recoil, but that little breath of it from Kakashi just left him wanting more. 

When Kakashi came back into the room, neither of them brought it up. Their conversation was stilted for a moment until Iruka remembered he had wanted to tell Kakashi about his students first camouflage lesson the day before. By midway through the story, they were both laughing again, tension giving way to the natural ease that always fell between them. 

It wasn't until Kakashi left that Iruka let himself wonder if maybe, just maybe, all of Kakashi's flirting wasn't completely meaningless.

~*~*~

Iruka was waiting for him at the training field, facing away from him, and Kakashi wanted to come up behind him, wrap him in his arms and bury his face in Iruka's neck.

He was downwind from Iruka, able to smell him before Iruka even noticed he was there. He drew in a deep breath and let Iruka wash over him. The mysterious part of his scent was starting to get stronger again, like it had when he was going into heat. Kakashi knew logically it shouldn't be happening again, only three weeks after Iruka's last one, but the alpha side of him whispered that it was a good thing. It was another chance for him. He'd wasted his last one and could make up for it this time.

 _Mine_ , that part of himself whispered every time he caught even a hint of Iruka's scent now. It was the first thing he thought whenever he saw Iruka. Not _Iruka_ , but _mine_. He wanted to know if Iruka tasted as good as his scent suggested, wanted to know how he'd sound with Kakashi inside of him. 

Kakashi could fight almost anything that came his way, but he was having a hard time fighting this. He shoved his most possessive thoughts down, tried to lock them away, tried to keep them as far from Iruka as possible. He was afraid of being just another overly aggressive alpha, another friend who'd take advantage of him instead of caring for him like he deserved.

He needed to step back from Iruka until he got himself under control again, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. If anything he was just being drawn closer every day. And each day it got harder to fight the urges he was having to show everyone exactly how much Iruka was his and he was Iruka's. He fought the urge to pull Iruka close in public, fought the urge to growl at alphas whose gazes lingered just a little too long or stood just a little too close. They were too close to what was his and he couldn't warn them off like he wanted to, like he was starting to _need_ to.

There were nights that the longing had gotten bad enough he'd considered going to one of the brothels on the edge of town, hoping the release would help ease the urges. But he could never bring himself to go. He didn't want anyone other than Iruka and the idea of Iruka smelling someone else on him sent cold dread twisting through his stomach. It was all he could do to keep himself from running to Iruka to apologize for even thinking about sleeping with someone else. To beg Iruka to not sleep with anyone else either, because as twisted up as his stomach got at the idea of sleeping with someone who wasn't Iruka, the idea of Iruka sleeping with anyone else was so much worse. 

Kakashi sent another burst of chakra along his endocrine system, reinforcing his control over his scent. He'd lost control of it too many times lately and he needed to do better. Once he was sure he had everything under control, he picked up his pace and closed the distance between them. It was only the fourth time, but these training sessions were quickly becoming his favorite parts of the week.

Iruka finally noticed Kakashi approaching and turned around, bright, open smile on his face. Smiles like that helped to soothe the worst of the turmoil inside him. They helped him breathe a little easier, relax a little more.

"Ready to to kick my ass again?" Iruka joked.

"Whenever you are," Kakashi replied, slipping into training mode.

~*~*~

Kakashi hadn't known what to expect the first time he trained with Iruka. He knew what was generally considered chuunin level and he thought Iruka was probably above it, but he had never seen Iruka fight for more than those few minutes during the mission. He had no idea what he was really capable of, but that short battle had made him curious. He had been pleasantly surprised. Iruka was smart and persistent, creative enough that he could turn even basic jutsu into something interesting, and all his basics were textbook perfect. He also set traps like it was no one's business. The third time they had trained together there had been one trick with a barrier seal that Kakashi was itching to try out in battle.

Iruka wasn't jounin level, but Kakashi didn't understand why he hadn't tried for tokujou. He was at least as good as Ebisu and Anko, if not better, maybe even on level with Genma. But the one time Kakashi had brought it up, Iruka had just laughed it off like he didn't believe him.

Kakashi had to remind himself almost constantly to keep his head in the game, not to get distracted by what might come afterwards. As much as it was starting to feel like it, this wasn't foreplay, Kakashi told himself. He wasn't doing this just to have an excuse to get Iruka shirtless later. 

_Really?_ Obito's voice asked and Kakashi had to dodge a barrage of kunai before he could answer that.

 _Yes, really_ , Kakashi replied, tossing a kunai back at Iruka only to have him disappear in a cloud of smoke.

 _Clone_ , Kakashi thought. It hadn't even tried to dodge and that usually seemed to lead to-

The entire world went dark. He pushed his forehead protector up and saw a faint blue glow forming a dome around him. It was some combination of a barrier with a light canceling jutsu. He stepped over to the barrier and hit his hand against it, it felt and sounded like glass. That explained the modified tags he'd seen on Iruka's kotatsu the night before, explosion kanji changed out for glass.

 _Interesting_ , Kakashi grinned. Iruka really did like his traps.

Kakashi looked closer at the barrier. There were four seams running up it, probably made by four separately placed tags. Just beyond the interference the barrier was causing, he could see faint chakra signatures of Iruka and four clones, waiting at the clear weak points in the barrier. Kakashi quickly made three clones of his own and then thought through his options. The two that were waiting together had to be clones, the real Iruka being there would be too obvious. Iruka probably wouldn't be directly across from them either, the second most obvious choice. It was a toss up between the other two points, however Iruka had a tendency to pull right when they were fighting, so Kakashi decided to take the point to the right of the pair.

He signaled to his clones to take the other three points and collectively they ran at the barrier, prepared to hit it hard enough to shatter it. Instead of meeting with resistance though, the barrier popped like a soap bubble, requiring him to correct his miscalculation of force mid-air while dodging the kunai that the Iruka on his side of the barrier had thrown at him.

He felt one of his clones dissipate right as he engaged Iruka in hand to hand combat. The clone hadn't been quick enough to dodge the kunai that had been sent its way. The kunai had only grazed the clone's arm, but it had been enough to dispel the clone. He heard four more pops in quick succession, but none of them came with a rush of returning memories. They had all been Iruka's clones. He'd guessed right. This Iruka was the real one.

With that confirmed, he went in for the kill, grabbing onto Iruka and flipping him to the ground.

Iruka groaned and looked up at him. "Is it ramen time yet?"

Kakashi smiled at that. "Sure, sensei, whatever you want."

Iruka reached up a hand and Kakashi helped pull him to his feet.

On their way to Ichiraku, Iruka looked over at him. "You were distracted, right before I could activate the barrier."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, remembering what he'd been thinking about at that time. "Yeah, I guess I was," he admitted.

"Thinking about how you'd rather be reading one of your books instead?"

"Maa, something like that," Kakashi said with a strained laugh. Then a thought hit him. "You left those tags out on your kotatsu on purpose, didn't you?"

Iruka's grin was a little wicked. "Maa, something like that." Kakashi couldn't help but grin back.

They grabbed take-out and headed back to Iruka's, but Kakashi wasn't hungry. He didn't think asking Iruka if they could skip dinner and jump to the part where he was shirtless was the best idea, so instead he pushed around the noodles in the broth and only pretended to eat. Iruka didn't seem to be very hungry either, far less enthusiastic than he usually was. He finished then stood up and headed to the kitchen with his empty bowl.

When he came back into the room he grinned at Kakashi. "Massage time?"

Kakashi felt his stomach clench at that. Iruka was going to be the death of him if they kept doing this. He tried to keep control of his scent as he stood. Each time they did this it got harder to do. 

He was playing with fire, but Kakashi couldn't bring himself to stop.

"Sure, sensei, whatever you want," he said, echoing his earlier words.

He could never decide if he wanted to watch Iruka remove his shirt or not. He liked watching too much. It made Kakashi think inappropriate things, made him want to tell Iruka to keep going. 

Trying to keep himself as clinical as possible, he set to the task of massaging Iruka's back. It helped to categorize pulled muscles and deep bruises, it distracted him, but there weren't many this time, mostly just knots of stress from a long workweek. Kakashi wondered if he had gone too easy on Iruka today, but decided he didn't care as Iruka continued to make little noises with each new muscle Kakashi work on. He found one particularly tense spot in Iruka's lower back and started to work it out slowly.

Iruka's scent was definitely getting stronger, he hadn't been imagining it before. Kakashi inhaled deeply and for what felt like the thousandth time he tried to figure out the riddle that was Iruka's scent, tried to place that little part that always eluded him. It teased him, like it was trying to remind him of something important that he'd forgotten, like if he could just figure out what it was exactly, it'd lead him to everything he had ever wanted in life, it'd lead him home.

Finally he felt the muscle relax under his fingers and Iruka let out a low moan. Kakashi swallowed hard. The spike of lust hit him before he could even think to control his scent. He felt Iruka freeze under his hands. He tried to bring his scent back under control but it kept slipping away from him, unwilling to stay controlled. Iruka was already pulling away from him.

 _Shit,_ he thought, panicking. There was no playing this one off like it hadn't happened. He'd fucked this up for good. 

But Iruka wasn't pulling away completely, just sitting up, bringing their faces close. He wove a hand into the hair at the back of Kakashi's head. Kakashi leaned into the touch. 

"Kiss me," Iruka whispered. His eyes were closed tight, clearly waiting for Kakashi to take down his mask. 

Kakashi didn't make him wait. He pulled down his mask and brought their lips together. And god, this was exactly what he'd been wanting. He put an arm around Iruka and pulled him closer. Kissing someone had never felt this right before.

The hidden part of Iruka's scent suddenly wasn't so hidden anymore, it seemed to wrap around them and Kakashi felt spikes of lust go through himself in response. He groaned into the kiss, realizing what his reaction meant.

He tried to pull away but Iruka chased after him. Holding Iruka back from another kiss felt like the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life.

"We need to stop," he said, leaning his forehead against Iruka's, their forehead protectors clinking together.

"Why?" Iruka asked, voice rough with emotions that Kakashi couldn't let himself think about if he wanted to do the right thing.

"You're going into heat again," he said. Continuing would just make it worse. Iruka cursed, pulling back from him in surprise. Kakashi didn't bother putting his mask back up.

"How can you even tell before I do?" Iruka asked.

"Good nose, I guess," he said with a shrug, but he was starting to wonder if it wasn't something else.

Reluctantly he got up and moved away from Iruka. He needed to get out of the apartment, needed fresh air to take the edge off the lust he was feeling. He made an awkward excuse and took his leave. Iruka didn't say anything to stop him, so he assumed it was the right things to do. It didn't feel that way though.

~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all the comments and kudos! I love hearing your reactions to things. ♥
> 
> Next part starts with Iruka going to see Tsunade again and trying to figure out what is wrong with him. Will post it Wednesday night at the latest. :)
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

For the second time in less than a month, Iruka found himself trying not to breathe as Tsunade's chakra scanned his body.

"You know you don't have to hold your breath," she said.

"You could have told me that the first time we did this."

"I could have," she shrugged.

Of course their new hokage had a sadistic streak, Iruka thought.

She hummed in thought for a moment. "You do appear to be in the _very_ early stages of heat again," she said finally. "But how did you even know? The tests barely show anything. You shouldn't be able to feel it yet."

Iruka didn't want to answer but she just stood there, staring at him impatiently.

"Kakashi could smell it on me," he admitted.

She raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

Iruka held back a sigh. "These suppressants suck."

"The suppressants appear to be fine," she stated.

"How are they 'fine' if I'm still going into heat?"

"They are doing everything they are should be doing, your body is just overriding them." 

"Isn't there something stronger I could take?"

"The suppressants aren't the problem."

"So then _I'm_ the problem?"

"No, I don't believe so," she said. 

"If I'm not the problem, how do you explain the fact that this will be the third time I'm going into heat in as many months?"

She studied him for a moment. "You know there are cases where suppressants stop working or heats become more frequent right after an omega finds their mate, right?"

Iruka made a face. He knew mates existed, even knew a few people who had found theirs. But it had always seemed more like something out of a cheesy movie or maybe one of those books that Kakashi always read, not like something that would actually happen to him. Plus there was one big problem with her theory. 

"I haven't met anyone new in months."

She just raised an eyebrow at him and he didn't understand why she looked so skeptical. When people found their mate, they _knew_. It was all in their scent. If he had found one, he would know.

"So what do I need to do?" he asked. "Go off the suppressants again?"

"I don't think it'll help, but you can try."

Iruka left her office disheartened. Whether she admitted it or not, there had to be something wrong with him. Maybe avoiding going into heat for so long really had messed with his body. Maybe he was doomed to not being able to suppress it ever again.

He was so out of it that he didn't even notice Kakashi leaning next to his apartment door until he was almost there. 

The moment he looked up and met Kakashi's eye, Kakashi straightened up. "What's wrong?"

Iruka had just wanted to go home and curl up in a ball of misery all night but there Kakashi was again, with his concerned look and his damn protective scent that was always beckoning to Iruka but stayed just out of his reach. For one spiteful moment he thought about just ignoring Kakashi, walking right past him and into his apartment, shutting the door in his face. But he couldn't do that anymore than he could betray the village. 

With a sigh, he let Kakashi in. He toed off his sandals and collapsed into his armchair while Kakashi took his usual place on the couch. He could feel the concerned look being directed at him.

"Iruka, what's wrong?" Kakashi asked again.

Iruka turned his head to the side, looking over at Kakashi. He was sitting at the very edge of the sofa, leaning towards Iruka, tension clear in the lines of his body. 

Iruka pressed his eyes shut and rolled his head back towards the ceiling. He swallowed, took a deep breath, and just let go.

He unloaded on Kakashi, telling him what Tsunade had said, that there must be something wrong with him, that this had to be punishment for lying his whole life. There was no way he could claim to have a cold or personal business every month, Tsunade wouldn't cover for him forever. It didn't matter what he wanted anymore, everyone was going to find out that he was an omega and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He finished his rant and they sat in silence for a few moments.

Finally Kakashi spoke, calmly, carefully. "Why does it matter if people find out?"

Iruka looked over at him. "You wouldn't understand, you've probably been an alpha since the day you were born."

Kakashi shrugged. "I knew when I was 7. Presented when I was 10."

"Fuck, that's young," Iruka said.

Kakashi nodded grimly. "Waking up in rut at 10 was terrifying. Thankfully the Fourth was around to knock me out until the worst of it passed. I learned to control it soon after."

Iruka grimaced. "I was 15. My parents were both betas and everyone just assumed I would be too, but I knew a few years before I presented. It was like I was just waiting for it to happen. Prepared for it as much as you ever really can, I guess." 

"So then why have you hidden it so long?"

Iruka shrugged, uncomfortable. He'd never talked about this with anyone other than the Third, but he wanted to tell Kakashi.

"I wanted to be a teacher, but you have to be a chuunin at least and so few omegas make it that far. When I realized I was an omega, I thought it'd be easier to keep it hidden until I made chuunin and then I'd tell people. But after I became a teacher, it just never seemed to be the right time. I worry that people won't want their kids in my class because of it. Look," he said, rubbing his face, " I know Konoha is progressive about this stuff, but there are still so many people who think omegas are weak and shouldn't be put in any sort of position of power."

"Wouldn't you be the perfect argument against that?" Kakashi asked and Iruka felt his cheeks heat at the praise.

"But I'm not that strong. At least not strong enough for people to think omegas can do whatever they want."

"Obviously some people are never going to change their minds, but people know you. They know you're capable. And more than that, you _are_ strong, both physically and mentally. I'd bet on you over multiple alpha tokujou that I know. I wasn't kidding when I said that to you before."

Iruka had a hard time believing that, but he let the comment slide. "I just don't want people acting differently around me when they find out."

"I don't think most of them will. And if they do, you'll set them straight pretty quickly."

Iruka huffed at that, eying Kakashi. "You're one to talk."

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "I haven't been treating you any differently because you're an omega."

"Yes, you have," Iruka said. "Suddenly you're all protective and you were never interested in me before."

There was a sharp flash of emotion in Kakashi's scent, too quick for Iruka to identify but it made him sit up straight and really look at Kakashi. 

He hesitated for a moment, studying Iruka, then spoke. "I was protective of you before, just better at hiding it, and I wanted you months before the mission. I never acted on it because every time an alpha tried anything with you, you made it very clear you weren't interested."

That stopped Iruka short. He blinked at Kakashi for a moment. "I just thought you were joking because your scent was always blank. Most alphas don't conceal desire well."

Kakashi shook his head. "Controlling my scent around you has been one of the hardest things I've done in years."

Iruka collapsed back into his chair, rubbing his face with his hands again, trying to wrap his head around that idea that Kakashi had probably liked him for as long as he had liked Kakashi. It didn't seem real.

"We're both idiots, aren't we?" he said after a few minutes.

Kakashi made a quiet noise of agreement. 

Iruka sighed, even if Kakashi did like him and even though he knew he'd be thrilled at the idea once it finally sunk in, it didn't solve any of his problems.

"So what are you going to do?" Kakashi asked, like he was reading his mind.

"I don't know, but I guess I'll be going into heat again soon, so I'll deal with that first and then figure out the rest after that."

Kakashi nodded. "That seems sensible."

"Speaking of sensible, don't stay in that tree the entire time, okay?"

"Why, would you rather have me in here?" Kakashi joked, immediately his eye widened, his brain catching up with his mouth. He shifted on the couch, drawing in a breath like he was about to speak, but Iruka cut him off before he could say anything.

"Yes," he said simply.

"What?" Kakashi asked, sounding strangled.

"Yes, I'd rather have you in here."

Kakashi groaned. "Iruka, I wouldn't be able to control myself."

"It's fine," Iruka said. "I trust you."

"I'm serious, Iruka," Kakashi warned, looking at him intensely. "That one kiss alone last night almost sent me into rut and you weren't even in more than the first stage of heat. If I'm in here, with you, when you're in heat, I don't think I'll be able to control myself."

Iruka swallowed hard at the idea of Kakashi going into rut. "Then don't. Don't control yourself."

Kakashi pressed his eyes shut. "Iruka," he warned again, voice tight.

"Do you want to be in here?" Iruka asked.

" _Yes_ ," Kakashi admitted. Iruka had never heard so much want in one single word, a strong wave a lust came with it. "But-"

"And if I said no, would you stop?" Iruka asked, cutting him off. "Even if you were in rut?"

Kakashi looked at him. "I would do everything I possibly could to stop. Even if I were in rut. But I don't know if I could-"

"I do. You'd stop. I trust you," he repeated.

Kakashi shut his eye again and groaned. "Iruka, you're going to be the death of me."

"I'll probably go into heat Saturday," Iruka told him, watching as his eye snapped open, gaze heavy on Iruka's skin. "Come over Friday night?"

"Fine," Kakashi said, standing up with predatory grace and walking over to Iruka's chair. He put both his hands on the arms of the chair and leaned down, his face just a few inches from Iruka's. There were sharp spikes of possessiveness and lust breaking through the blank page of Kakashi's scent and Iruka was finally understanding how worked up he must be to give away so much. Being the focus of that level of intensity was one of the hottest things Iruka had ever experienced. 

Kakashi's eye flickered down to Iruka's lips and Iruka realized that deep underneath everything else in Kakashi's scent, there was the faintest traces of rut. It made him dig his fingers into the arms of the chair to keep himself from squirming at the idea of it.

After a moment, Kakashi pulled away. "I'll see you Friday," he said as he walked towards the door. Iruka could hear the tension in his voice even though he was trying to keep it casual. 

Iruka got up and locked the door behind him. He slumped against the door, needing a minute. He was half hard and Kakashi hadn't even touched him. He tried to ignore it but ended up jerking off in the shower anyway.

The next morning, Iruka woke from a dream of Kakashi standing close to him, almost kissing him, but always keeping just a few inches away. He closed his eyes and tried to assess himself, but closing his eyes just invited visions of Kakashi into his head. He felt the first signs of heat twist through him. 

_Definitely not making it until Saturday_ , he thought. Considering how quickly it was coming on, he doubted he'd make it through the next day.

At the Academy he made hasty arrangements to be gone from the following day through the weekend then switched out his shifts at the Mission Desk. When everything was set, he sent a quick, one-line note to Kakashi.

He didn't take his suppressant Wednesday morning, not that it was doing much anyway, then spent the next few hours nervously fussing around his apartment, straightening things that really didn't need to be straightened and then straightening them again. He was relieved when he heard the knock on his door.

~*~*~

Kakashi stared at the note for a full minute before his blood stopped rushing enough for him to process it beyond a primal level.

_"Make it Wednesday afternoon."_

That was less than 24 hours away. He swallowed hard and hit his head against the nearest wall a couple times to try to get his brain to start working again. 

At this rate, Iruka really was going to be the death of him.

He swung by Tsunade's office to tell her that he wouldn't be able to take missions for the next few days.

"Funny," she said, "Iruka just stopped by to tell me the exact same thing."

Kakashi could feel himself blushing and got out of her office as soon as humanly possible, but not before she tossed a tube of something at him.

He caught it by reflex only to nearly jump out of his skin when he realized it was lube.

If Iruka alone wasn't going to be the death of him of him, Tsunade was definitely going to help.

~*~*~

Kakashi showed up at Iruka's apartment with food but neither of them were hungry. Iruka put the food in his refrigerator and they stood in his kitchen, eying each other. Iruka was only wearing his uniform shirt and pants. Seeing him with his hair down, without the rest of his gear, felt almost as obscene as having him shirtless.

He felt on edge, hyper aware of every move Iruka made. He took a deep breath to steady himself, but it didn't help when all he could smell was the omega part of Iruka's scent starting to emerge again and with it the jumble of emotions that he couldn't fully understand. Iruka was tense, but Kakashi didn't need his scent to tell him that.

"Iruka, if you don't want this too, I need you to tell me now."

Iruka shook his head. "No, I want this."

He went to the corner beside his door and touched a part of the wall then ran through a series of hand seals. His hands were shaking slightly, but then Kakashi's were too. The part of the wall Iruka had touched lit up and Kakashi felt Iruka's wards wrap around the apartment followed by another two layers that he assumed where the sound and scent canceling ones he had seen before. He'd have to ask Iruka about them later, they looked impressive, but at the moment he couldn't think much beyond _Iruka_ and _mine_ over and over again.

He had Iruka up against the door before he even realized what he was doing. Iruka jumped slightly in surprise and Kakashi started to pull back. He didn't want to remind Iruka of what had almost happened to him in the past. He wanted to go slow but he also didn't know how much control he'd be able to keep over himself.

"Sorry," he said, "I don't think I can be gentle right now."

Iruka shook his head. "It's okay." 

He pulled down Kakashi's mask and leaned up to kiss him. It was just a soft brush of lips at first but it didn't stay that way. Iruka bit at Kakashi's lower lip and Kakashi growled in response, pinning Iruka against the door and kissing him hard, tangling a hand in his hair. 

But then Iruka was pulling back, whispering a rough " _wait_ " against Kakashi's lips.

It took all his willpower but Kakashi started to move off of him, thinking it was too much, too quickly, but Iruka grabbed onto his arms with strong hands, keeping him close. 

"No, I just need you to stop controlling your scent."

Kakashi blinked. He had been trying to control his scent as much as he could, but he knew he'd been giving off lust from the moment he'd walked into the apartment. Still, he thought, some control was better than none at all. He didn't want to scare Iruka with the intensity of his feelings. All the protective and possessive urges, the lust and longing that had been building up for months.

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes," Iruka said, looking him straight in the eye. "Please."

He took a deep breath and stopped the flow of chakra that controlled his scent, watching Iruka closely to make sure he wasn't disturbed by it. Ready to restart the chakra if he were.

Iruka inhaled deeply, the reaction in him immediate. His eyes went dark with lust and he moaned, grabbing Kakashi even tighter, burying his head in Kakashi's neck and smelling him. 

"God, yes, _Kakashi_ ," he moaned against Kakashi's neck and Kakashi couldn't respond for a moment because that little change in Iruka's scent was unfolding itself and surrounding them, twisting around them, tying them together.

Kakashi finally realized what it meant. 

Iruka's scent didn't just _remind_ him of home, it _was_ home. The primal part of his mind hadn't just been whispering _mine_ when he saw Iruka, it was so much more than that. It wasn't just _mine_ , it was _mate_. The reason only he could smell that hidden part of Iruka's scent was because it was only meant for him to smell. In one moment Iruka had completely destroyed his world then remade it into something beautiful and new.

Iruka pulled back just enough to look at Kakashi, eyes wide. 

"You're my..." he started to say, trailing off like he couldn't quite believe it, voice unsteady, barely above a whisper.

There was wonder in his scent, and happiness and love, and Kakashi suddenly realized he could understand it, like he'd been given the key to decoding a secret scroll.

" _Yes_ ," Kakashi replied. He could hear the shaking in his own voice.

"We really are idiots, aren't we?" Iruka laughed softly, a little hysterically, and Kakashi couldn't help but join in. He couldn't remember any other time in his life when he had felt happy enough he could cry. For the first time in months, he felt completely at peace. Iruka was here, with him. They were together, where they were supposed to be.

He realized he had probably just left a set of ten bruises on Iruka's hips with how hard he was holding onto him. They'd match the set Iruka was leaving on his arms.

Kakashi reached up to cup the back of Iruka's neck and pulled him into another kiss, slower and more intense. The more it built, the more Kakashi could only think of one thing. He needed to be as close to Iruka as possible and he needed it now. 

Iruka seemed to be of the same opinion, pushing Kakashi back towards his bedroom while still kissing him, stripping him of his gear along the way. They separated for a moment to remove their shirts only return to kissing each other again with renewed desperation, like they were trying to make up for that lost moment.

When they got to the bed, Iruka sat on the edge of it, starting to unwind the wrap around Kakashi's thigh. One day Kakashi would want Iruka to undo all his wrapping slowly, teasing him the entire time. Today was not that day. He slid a finger between his leg and the wrap and sent a sharp burst of wind chakra through it, slicing it clean through. It fell apart in pieces in Iruka's hands. Kakashi repeated the trick on the wraps around his calves as well, leaving the scraps of fabric to fall to the floor.

Iruka looked up at him with a smirk. "In a hurry?"

"Why?" Kakashi replied. "Should I go slower?" He hooked his thumbs under the waistband of his pants and underwear and started to lower them agonizingly slowly. Iruka's eyes devoured every new sliver of skin Kakashi revealed.

Iruka's patience didn't last for long, a relief to Kakashi since he wouldn't have been able to tease much longer either. Iruka swatted away Kakashi's hands, slipping his own between the clothes and Kakashi's skin. Kakashi groaned as Iruka grabbed his ass and then stripped him of the rest of his clothes.

Iruka eyes focused on Kakashi's cock and he started to lean forward, intention clear, but Kakashi put his hand out, cupping Iruka's cheek to stop him.

"If you want me to last long enough to fuck you, that needs to wait until another time," he said, voice low and rough.

Iruka's eyes darted between Kakashi's cock and his face, like he was trying to decide how far he wanted to push it. Finally he pulled back, slipping off his own pants as he moved onto the bed. With Iruka spread out on his bed, waiting for him, all tan skin and hard muscles, Kakashi could do nothing but follow.

He settled between Iruka's legs, reveling in the perfect way they fit against each other. They traded a few hot kisses until the first wave of Iruka's heat hit them both hard, making them groan into each other's mouths. 

As Kakashi lost himself in Iruka's scent, he felt himself sliding into rut, the hot burn of it gathering in his gut. But instead of the maddening, restless lust he had experienced the few times he'd gone into rut in the past, Iruka's scent anchored him, kept him focused, gave him purpose. He was there for Iruka, he was made for Iruka, he'd do whatever he needed to get him through his heat.

"Lube?" he asked and Iruka pointed towards a box the was sitting on his bedside table. Kakashi opened it and blinked as a realization hit him. There wasn't just lube in the box, there were also heat aids. Ones Iruka had probably been using his last two heats. The pictures that painted in his mind, the idea of Iruka fucking himself with them caused a powerful wave of lust to wash over him. Iruka moaned, no doubt catching the emotion in Kakashi's scent and it echoed back at him through Iruka's.

" _Kakashi_ ," he said, a plea and a demand, grabbing on to Kakashi, need clear in his voice. Kakashi grabbed the lube and put the idea of using the toys with Iruka on his ever-growing list of things to do later.

Kakashi coated himself with lube then worked two fingers into Iruka, watching him for any sign of pain but Iruka just moaned for more and pressed down on Kakashi's fingers.

He'd barely worked a third finger in when Iruka grabbed his arm with an iron grip. "I'm good," he bit out. " _Now_."

Kakashi couldn't argue with that. He lined himself up and pushed in. He'd never felt anything like this before. He was lost in Iruka, surrounded by his scent. He never wanted this moment to end.

He started to move, holding eye contact with Iruka, watching pleasure flicker over his features. The scent of Iruka's heat deepened with each thrust and Kakashi felt it driving him on, harder, faster. Iruka dug his fingers into Kakashi's back. There would be bruises all over his skin in the morning and the idea only made Kakashi fuck him harder. He wanted Iruka's marks all over him.

He was deep inside Iruka when he felt the pressure building at the base of his cock. He'd never felt it before, but knew exactly what it meant. 

"Need to knot you," he groaned into Iruka's ear. 

Iruka started clawing at Kakashi's shoulders, squirming until Kakashi pulled back enough for him to slip off his cock. If it weren't for Iruka's scent telling him exactly how much Iruka wanted this, he would have panicked, thinking he'd just pushed too far, that Iruka didn't want this after all. But then Iruka was turning onto his knees and forearms underneath Kakashi, drawing his hair over one shoulder, exposing the back of his neck, invitation clear. Kakashi couldn't breathe for a moment from the desire that was coursing through his blood.

He growled and sunk back into Iruka, nipping at the back of Iruka's neck, pleased at the desperate cries it drew out of him, at the way it made Iruka meet his every thrust just a little harder than the last. Kakashi gave him a few more harsh thrusts before stopping, causing Iruka to whine in protest until Kakashi changed his angle and brought them closer together. He pressed himself against the entire length of Iruka's back, one arm wrapped tight around him to keep him as close as possible as he buried himself deep inside Iruka. 

He gave in to the pool of heat that had built inside him, let it take over as he moved slow and deep in Iruka. He felt the knot start to form, expanding inside Iruka, dragging along his prostate with each move and making him arch back against Kakashi, hands fisted desperately in the sheets as he let out strings of curses in between cries of _Kakashi_ and _mate_ over and over again. 

" _Iruka_ ," Kakashi replied in kind, biting at his ear. " _Mate_."

The word mate seemed to spark something in Iruka, making him clench down around Kakashi's knot as he came, dragging Kakashi over the edge with him. The world went white with pleasure.

It took Kakashi a minute to regain himself enough to realize he was probably crushing Iruka. They were tied together so he carefully rolled them over onto their sides, enjoying the little contented noises Iruka made and the boneless way he settled against him.

He buried his nose into Iruka's neck and inhaled again, eyes fluttering shut at the mix of their scents covering Iruka's skin. He'd never smelled anything more perfect in his entire life.

~*~*~

Iruka lay in a daze, inhaling Kakashi's scent. His senses were overrun by Kakashi and the feelings of love and protectiveness that were coming off of him. Kakashi's knot was deflating, but Iruka could still feel the way it had stretched him. He wiggled back against Kakashi, earning a deep groan and a fresh wave of lust rolling off Kakashi.

He inhaled deeply. 

"God, this is so much better than a dirty uniform," he whispered, before he could realize what he was saying.

He felt Kakashi go still behind him, then he was pulling out slowly, making Iruka whine at the loss. It momentarily distracted him from embarrassment over what he had just said.

Kakashi rolled him over so they were facing each other again. 

"You used my uniform to get you through your heat?" Kakashi asked, voice rough and intense.

Iruka felt his face heat. He hadn't meant to tell Kakashi that. 

Kakashi kept staring at him, hints of another wave of rut starting to come off him and Iruka tried not to squirm under his gaze.

"Yes," he admitted finally. 

Kakashi growled and rolled on top of him, kissing him hard. 

He pulled back to look Iruka in the eye. "Now I _really_ wish you hadn't washed it before you gave it back to me."

Iruka laughed. "Maybe next time," he joked between kisses. "I'll give it back to you right before you go on a long mission."

Kakashi groaned. "You really will be the death of me, won't you?" But he didn't sound like he minded it much and Iruka leaned up to kiss him again.

After a minute, Kakashi pulled away. "What did you do last time?"

Iruka felt himself blush again but decided to tell Kakashi anyway. "You always sit on the same side of the couch. It was starting to smell like you."

Kakashi's eyes went wide. "You had your heat on the couch?"

"No, just brought one of the pillows in here."

"Did you think of me while you fucked yourself with those toys?" Kakashi asked, his eyes were dark with lust, oncoming wave of rut becoming clearer in his scent.

Iruka knew he'd be embarrassed about admitting it later, but he felt another wave of heat coming on in response to how worked up Kakashi was getting and wanted to tell him just to see how he'd react.

"Yes. Your scent was the only thing that got me through the worst of it."

Kakashi growled at that, pulling him into a heated kiss and Iruka let himself fall into the second wave of his heat.

~*~*~

They spent the next two days riding out waves of heat and rut. Kakashi brought him food and water between waves and any time Iruka tried to get up, Kakashi was there, picking him up and carrying him wherever he wanted to go.

"You know I am still capable of walking, right?" Iruka asked, amused.

Kakashi hummed noncommittally.

"And you know I'm going to have to walk by myself again eventually, right?"

" _Eventually_ ," Kakashi agreed.

 _Ridiculous_ , Iruka thought, fighting back a smile as he was carried back to his bed.

He was starting to understand why most omegas said they actually enjoyed going into heat. It all just depended on the company.

~*~*~

On Saturday morning, Iruka woke up and stretched in bed, savoring the post-heat contentment that had settled into his body. It had ended sooner than he'd wanted, something he never would have expected himself to think. He'd enjoyed it but maybe now that he understood what his body had been trying to tell him, he wouldn't have another heat sneak up on him when he wasn't expecting it.

He could hear Kakashi making breakfast in the kitchen and he smiled. He didn't have to go back to work until Monday, which gave them two days to explore how everything had changed between them.

Iruka got up and ran through a few basic stretches, testing out how sore he was. Not bad, considering, he thought. He glanced at the bed and realized the state it was in. He sighed. That needed to be fixed.

He started to remove the sheets from the bed when suddenly Kakashi was behind him, pulling him away from the sheets. He must have heard Iruka from the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked, voice morning-rough in Iruka's ear.

"Changing the sheets, obviously," Iruka replied, enjoying the feel of Kakashi's bare chest pressed against his back.

Kakashi grabbed him tighter. "But they smell like you in heat."

Iruka turned in his arms to look at him. "Exactly. We had sex on them eight times, they _need_ to be changed."

Kakashi pouted at him and Iruka decided it was even more adorable without his mask on.

He kissed Kakashi lightly on the lips. "How about this? I change these, and then after breakfast we can break in the new ones?"

Kakashi seemed to think that was agreeable but he still sent Iruka utterly distressed and betrayed looks when he started spraying scent-neutralizing deodorizer. Iruka realized the only way he was going to get a shower was if he brought Kakashi in with him, but that was another compromise he was more than happy to make.

They made it through breakfast, but just barely, and Iruka was pleased to find that normal sex with Kakashi was just as mind-blowing as the biologically driven kind.

~*~*~

Saturday went by far too quickly and on Sunday morning Iruka found himself staring at his bottle of suppressants. If he wanted to go back to work tomorrow with no one noticing, he needed to take one today. He opened the bottle and took out a pill.

"Wait," he heard Kakashi say and he looked up, surprised. He hadn't realized Kakashi was watching him.

Iruka studied him. "You don't want me to take them?" 

He didn't know how he felt about that. A lot had just changed in his life and he wanted to take it one step at a time.

Kakashi shook his head, walking over to him and pulling him close. "I meant just give me a minute before you take it."

He rested his forehead against Iruka's and took a few deep breaths. Iruka could understand that, he'd probably want to do the same before Kakashi started controlling his scent again.

"Obviously, I'm pro Iruka pheromones," Kakashi said, smiling softly before he took on a more serious tone. "But your life is the one that would change, so it needs to be what you're comfortable with. I don't want you to stop taking them until _you_ want to stop taking them."

Iruka considered his options. "I have two months left," he said. "I'll take the rest of them and then decide if I'll buy more after that."

"That sounds logical," Kakashi said. "Just promise me you won't make me wait seven years before your next heat, okay?"

"Don't worry," Iruka reassured him. "I won't be repeating that ever again."

"Good," Kakashi replied.

"How does after the end of the school year in March sound to you?"

"March, I can definitely do," Kakashi said, kissing him hard in promise. 

For the first time in Iruka's life, he found himself actually looking forward to his next heat.

~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hopefully you don't mind that I didn't make you wait all seven chapters for them to hook up, but I felt like extending it at this point would have just pushed it too far into the 'omg you guys are idiots' territory. ;) 
> 
> The last chapter is various scenes from the next few months of their lives. Announcing their relationship to their friends, stuff like that. It was really fun to write, so I hope you'll enjoy reading it. Will post it on Saturday. :D
> 
> Thank you again for all your comments and kudos! They are really motivating. ♥


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning: So much fluff. ALL the fluff. Sickening amounts of it, really.

Kakashi woke Iruka in the early hours of dawn on Monday. He was already fully dressed.

"Mission?" Iruka mumbled.

"Yeah, probably won't be back until Friday."

"Okay, come home safe." 

Kakashi's scent shimmered with happiness as he leaned down to kiss Iruka then he jumped out the bedroom window.

Iruka sighed. He had gotten somewhat of a feel for Kakashi's bizarre mission schedule since they'd become friends, but he'd be getting a lot closer look at it now. He rolled out of bed, knowing he wouldn't fall back to sleep, and started getting ready for the first day of what was probably going to be a long week.

When Iruka arrived home after work on Friday, Kakashi was waiting on the railing of Iruka's balcony. His hair was damp and his clothes were fresh, like he'd stopped by his own apartment for a shower and change before coming to Iruka's. His slouch was more pronounced than usual, his scent muted but not fully controlled, both of which suggested exhaustion and chakra depletion to Iruka. 

"Welcome home," Iruka said, helping Kakashi to his feet. "Why didn't you let yourself in?" He'd left his wards down for that reason.

Kakashi's eye darted away from Iruka's. "I didn't want to presume."

Iruka pulled him inside, taking off one of Kakashi's gloves and pushing his hand against the master lock of his wards, adding Kakashi's chakra as a key. When the wards flashed as they recalibrated themselves, Iruka turned to look at Kakashi.

"When I say 'home,' I don't just mean Konoha. My home is your home."

Kakashi tugged down his mask and leaned in to kiss Iruka, soft and slow. After a moment, he pulled back enough to rest his forehead against Iruka's. 

"If I had the energy right now..."

Iruka grinned. "I know, but I'd happily take a good cuddling as substitute." 

Even Kakashi's smile showed signs of fatigue. "That, I think I can manage."

Iruka steered him into the bedroom and slowly removed his uniform, Kakashi sleepy and pliant under his hands. Once he got him down to his uniform pants he stripped down to his own and tucked them both into bed. 

He realized multiple of his friends would tell him that going to bed at 7:30 on a Friday officially made him an old man, but he couldn't bring himself to care as he settled into Kakashi's arms.

~*~*~

The following morning it was Iruka's turn to slip out of bed while Kakashi slept. He set out a new uniform and made his way to the shower. When he was finished, he wrapped a towel around his waist and started drying his hair with another as he stepped back into his bedroom.

He jumped as Kakashi wrapped his arms around him. Well, someone was awake now, apparently, Iruka thought. There were still shadows under his eyes and his movements weren't as precise as usual, but at least he didn't look like he was about to fall over from exhaustion anymore.

Kakashi started rubbing his face against Iruka's neck, sliding his hands all over Iruka's body. Scenting him, Iruka realized.

Iruka had the mental image of Kakashi as an overexcited puppy. He laughed and tried to push him away. "Kakashi, people will smell you." They hadn't talked about how they were going to tell their friends yet.

"Good," Kakashi said, rubbing his cheek against Iruka's. "Let them. I've wanted to do this for six months."

"Your ingenious plan of announcing our relationship to our friends is just to scent me until they notice?" 

"Well, there are less subtle things we could do, but I don't think you'll let me do my first choice."

Iruka gave Kakashi a look. "You want to fuck me on the Mission Desk, don't you?"

The whine that elicited was more than enough of a yes for Iruka.

He disentangled himself from Kakashi enough to get dressed, snorting when he grabbed the shirt that was laid across his pants.

"Kakashi, have you seen the clean shirt I laid out?"

"That isn't it?" Kakashi's innocent act was never less sincere.

"This appears to be yours. The one you were wearing yesterday."

"Huh. How'd that get there?"

Iruka shook his head fondly. "Kakashi, do you want me to wear this? To work. At the Mission Desk. Where dozens of shinobi will smell you on me. Quite possibly including our friends. And the hokage."

Kakashi just grinned and nodded. If he had a tail, Iruka thought, it would be wagging.

Iruka shook his head again and slipped the shirt on. It was a little tight across the chest, but that wouldn't be noticeable under his vest.

"Happy?" Iruka asked, fighting back a smile.

Kakashi's response was tackling Iruka to the bed.

Iruka laughed and let Kakashi rub against him for a minute before pulling away. "Okay, okay. But that will have to wait until after work."

"Fine, sensei, but if you change your mind about my first choice..." he leered.

Iruka managed to get out of his apartment and to work on time, but just barely.

Genma's head turned sharply in his direction the moment Iruka sat down next to him. He inhaled deeply and Iruka waited for it.

Genma lifted an eyebrow at him. "Really, sensei, _Kakashi_?"

Iruka felt himself blush. Genma gave a low whistle around his senbon. 

" _Damn_ , sensei, well done," he said, just making Iruka blush harder.

Early in the morning, Kurenai picked up a mission with her team and her eyes immediately pinned Iruka down, the barest hint of a smirk starting to pull at the corner of her mouth. Kiba was sniffing as well, clearly trying to figure out the difference, but Iruka was more focused on the sharp interest and amusement in Kurenai's eyes. She didn't say anything, but he got the feeling Kakashi might be hearing from her soon. 

Nearly every jounin and tokujou who came through Iruka's line that day, whether alpha or beta, did a double take. They were the ones that were most likely to recognize Kakashi's scent and most of them clearly had. Iruka had a low level blush going all day. He was entirely sure he knew _exactly_ what the gossip mill would be discussing that night. 

Kakashi showed up a few hours into the shift, lounging in a corner for a while, enjoying the chaos that he was causing.

"Hey, Kakashi!" Genma called, giving him a thumbs up.

Kakashi returned it in full Gai mode.

It looked like the eyes of the kunoichi in front of Iruka were about to pop out of her head as they swung wildly back and forth between Kakashi and Iruka, her cheeks turning progressively redder. Normally she flirted with Iruka when she picked up missions, this time she didn't. Iruka handed over a scroll and wished her a safe mission. Kakashi gave her a little wave and she jumped, hurrying away. 

Genma spent the next two hours of their shift chuckling every time another shinobi did a double take at Iruka, then looked over at Kakashi in the corner, and back again.

Iruka excused himself for a bathroom break midway through the shift and Kakashi took it as an opportunity to rub up against him in the bathroom. He returned to the Desk slightly rumpled, with Kakashi's scent renewed to full force and Genma almost lost it.

Kakashi didn't come back into the room after that, but it didn't stop the steady stream of surprised and curious looks Iruka got for the next few hours.

Towards the end of his shift, Tsunade swept through the room, checking to make sure everything was going smoothly. She raised an eyebrow at Iruka.

"I believe you have paperwork to fill out," she stated blandly. 

Emergency contact forms, domestic partnership forms. Iruka hadn't even thought about it until she said it.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Iruka said, bowing his head.

"It's about time," she muttered to herself as she walked away, making Genma snicker for probably the 100th time that day.

On his walk home, Iruka heard Gai coming towards him before he saw him.

"My Esteemed Riv- oh, Iruka-sensei, it is you," he said as he jumped into the street in front of Iruka. "Where has My Rival gone? He must have just been here."

Iruka didn't know what to say to that, but then Gai was taking a breath, trying to determine which way Kakashi had gone. His eyes settled on Iruka again, clearly realizing that Kakashi's scent was coming from him.

"Iruka-sensei, Beloved Teacher of My Precious Students, are you and My Honored Rival in the thrall of a Most Youthful and Passionate Love?"

Iruka tried not to choke on air. If people hadn't heard before, Gai's booming voice had just let them know. A few of the shopkeeper along the street stuck their heads out of their shops to look. 

"...something like that?" Iruka said, rubbing at his scar. There should really be a limit to how much a person could blush in one day, Iruka decided.

Gai clapped Iruka on the shoulder hard enough to make him stagger. "My Rival's Hipness has only increased with your Blessed Union!"

Gai was over the top as always, but his blessing made Iruka smile. He thanked Gai and went on his way.

A little bit later, Anko dropped down next to him, gave him a rather wicked grin before backing him against a wall, leaning in to smell him, only to be stopped as Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and yanked her back. The warning in his scent was clear.

"Kakashi, relax. She does this every time she smells someone new on me."

Anko didn't seem the least bit fazed by the possessiveness coming off Kakashi.

"I _thought_ I recognized that scent. Hello, Kakashi," she grinned at him with a dangerous light in her eyes. "I don't need to give you the 'hurt him and I'll kill you' speech, do I?"

Kakashi managed to look offended with only one eye showing.

She left but not before winking at Iruka. "He smells good on you."

They shared a smile at that, Iruka's a little embarrassed and Kakashi's more than a little proud. 

"She's right," Kakashi said as he leaned down for a quick kiss. "I do smell good on you."

"Mmm, yes, you do," Iruka agreed.

After they got back inside Iruka's apartment, Kakashi looked at him. "You know, in some alternate reality where you weren't on suppressants and the first time we met was when I was handing in a report after a long mission, too tired to control my scent anymore, we probably did fuck on the Mission Desk."

Iruka snorted. "You've been thinking about this all day, haven't you?"

Kakashi didn't even try to deny it.

~*~*~

They had both been thrilled when they realized that even when Iruka was on suppressants now, Kakashi could still smell the part of his scent that linked them together as mates. To everyone else in Konoha, Iruka's scent was just an average, forgettable beta scent. To Kakashi, it was a bright neon sign flashing _MATE!_ that led straight to Iruka.

Kakashi still preferred Iruka's scent without the suppressants, but he'd take what he could get.

Iruka had already left for work earlier in the morning and Kakashi took his time getting ready. He was supposed to meet Gai on Training Field 12 at 10:00 that morning. Kakashi glanced at the clock. 10:30. Okay, he thought, about time to leave.

He swung on his vest, smiling as the faintest hints of Iruka's scent came off of it. On his way out he picked up his book which he'd left laying on Iruka's kotatsu and was about to tuck it into his vest when he realized Iruka's scent was on it, too. He pulled down his mask and inhaled. Yes, Iruka's scent was definitely all over his book. He smirked, maybe he had been interested in the books after all. He pulled his mask back up, tucked away the book, and headed out the door, smiling. If there was anything better than an Icha Icha book, it was an Iruka-scented Icha Icha book.

Kakashi arrived at the training field a prompt 57 minutes late. Gai declared him Timely and Hip as always. 

They were mid-challenge, one-handed handstand pushups, when the wind shifted and suddenly Kakashi was hit with Iruka's scent. It was almost enough to make him lose his balance. When Kakashi got bored enough with the challenge to let Gai win, he wandered over to where Iruka's scent was coming from. Up in a tree at the edge of the field he found one of Iruka's undershirts. Kakashi grinned. He'd mentioned something about training with Gai the night before. Iruka must have looked up the field they'd reserved and put his shirt there that morning.

In the afternoon he had an on-call shift at the Jounin Standby Station. There always needed to be at least one jounin on-call in the room at all times, ready for instant deployment if needed. Jounin came and went throughout the day, but only the on-call jounin was required to be there. They rotated through the active duty roster and were rarely ever needed. It was arguably the most boring part of being a jounin and 'x number of shifts at the Standby Station' was a common wager when jounin bet against each other.

Kakashi was in the room for barely a minute when he realized literally everything in the room smelled like Iruka. The couches smelled like he had just been sitting on them, the walls like he had just been leaning against them. Even the damn water cooler smelled like him. And it wasn't just Iruka's normal scent, that would have been bad enough, there was a clear undertone of _I want you now_ laced through it. 

It was like a personalized version of both heaven and hell built just for Kakashi. Anything that smelled like Iruka was heaven, but when he was stuck there for the next six hours and couldn't track him down to do the list of things he wanted to do to him, it felt a lot like hell. He took his book out, hoping to distract himself, only to remember it was now also Iruka-scented. By the end of his six hours shift, his list of things to do with Iruka was very, very long.

If he looked a little crazed and dashed out of the room the moment the next on-call jounin showed up for her shift, everyone probably blamed it on the mind-numbing boredom of Standby shifts. Everyone was very wrong.

Iruka really was going to be the death of him, he thought, as he followed the trail of Iruka's scent back to Iruka's apartment.

Iruka didn't even jump when Kakashi threw open the door. Instead he just smirked at Kakashi from the couch. 

"Have a good day?" he asked, loosening the tie on the bathrobe he was wearing. 

Kakashi didn't bother replying, just tackled him, about ready to cry in relief when he realized that not only was Iruka naked under the robe, he had also stretched himself right before Kakashi had gotten there. Kakashi could just slick himself with the lube Iruka had ready and sink right into him. 

He would have liked to tease Iruka until he was just as worked up, but that would have to wait for another time. As it was, Kakashi had barely had enough patience to remove his vest and was just happy he managed to last longer than a minute.

"Welcome home," Iruka said softly, after they'd finished. 

Kakashi couldn't keep the stupid smile off his face. "I'm home," he said in return.

~*~*~

A few weeks later, they were lying in bed together. Kakashi was looking at Iruka closely. "I'm the only alpha you've had sex with, right?" he asked after a moment.

"Yeah," Iruka admitted, "I was always worried I'd give myself away somehow."

Kakashi made a low, happy noise at that and Iruka poked at him. "Don't get the wrong idea though, there were betas."

Kakashi seemed significantly less pleased about that. Iruka could smell the possessiveness in his scent spike, but it was actually what Kakashi wanted to talk about.

"Did you top or bottom?" he asked.

Iruka was a little surprised that Kakashi even asked. Most people would just assume he always bottomed because he was an omega, whether or not his partners had known that fact. But then, Kakashi wasn't most people.

"Both," he said with a shrug. "I like both." 

Kakashi studied him. "Do you want to top me?"

A wave of lust went through Iruka at the idea, at the mental image of Kakashi laid out beneath him. He hadn't thought about it before, but now he had, he wasn't going to be able to get it out of his head. He couldn't even pretend not to be interested, his scent was definitely giving him away. 

"Would you be okay with that?" Iruka asked, a little uncertain. 

"If it's you and I knew it'd made you happy? Yes, absolutely."

Iruka hummed in happiness and leaned in for a kiss. When they broke apart Kakashi chuckled, carding a hand through Iruka's hair. "If you're this happy at just the suggestion of it..." he trailed off and leaned in for another kiss. 

"I'll be the death of you if we actually do it?" Iruka teased, throwing Kakashi's phrase back at him.

"When," Kakashi corrected, "and it will be the best possible way to go."

Iruka grinned and they kissed again.

The first time they switched, Iruka was nervous, like Kakashi was going to change his mind at any moment and tell Iruka off for trying to be above him. 

"You know I don't think of you as submissive because you let me top, right?" Kakashi said. "If anything, you're in control most of the time anyway."

Iruka felt him blush, but it was true. They both liked it when he rode Kakashi.

"I could neutralize my scent if that would help," Kakashi offered innocently. 

"Don't you dare," Iruka warned and Kakashi laughed. Kakashi didn't control his scent at home, they'd established that almost immediately.

"So fuck me then."

Iruka resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Kakashi. "So romantic."

"Hey, it's romantic whenever the princess says it in Icha Icha Paradise." 

Iruka groaned. "We really need to talk about your choice of reading material someday."

"Oh, yes. Let's. Which part would you like to talk about? Page 32 might be a good start. Or maybe page 78? That's one of my favorites."

Iruka snorted in amusement. "Why do I even bother with you?" he asked, but it was fond.

"Because I'm the best mate ever and you couldn't live without me?" Kakashi helpfully supplied. It was meant as lighthearted banter to help Iruka relax move, but Iruka answered him truthfully.

"Yes, you are," he said, kissing him firmly. "And no, I couldn't." Another kiss. "Also, because I love you." He kissed him again and when they pulled apart they were both serious again.

"Love you, too," Kakashi replied as Iruka rolled on top of him.

They took it slow. Regardless of what Kakashi actually wanted, his body wasn't used to this and he did have to fight down some of his more primal instincts that told him he needed to top, but they were both thrilled at how responsive Kakashi was once Iruka had finally worked his way inside of him.

Afterwards, Iruka brought him a warm washcloth to wipe down with and some water and painkiller just in case. He fluffed the pillows behind Kakashi's head.

"Mmm," Kakashi hummed, "I could definitely get used to you fussing over me like this."

Iruka pulled him close. "Don't even think about it," he chuckled. He was already too attached to Kakashi pampering him after sex. 

"But seriously," he said, looking Kakashi over, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"More than okay," Kakashi assured him.

"So... does that mean you'd be okay with doing it again?"

Kakashi stretched like a spoiled cat then pulled Iruka closer still. "It could never happen when I'm in rut," he said, which was fine with Iruka, he didn't think he'd ever want to top when he was in heat anyway. "But at other times, yes, definitely."

"Best mate ever," Iruka whispered against his lips and then kissed him again.

~*~*~

As the year was drawing to a close, the number of pills in Iruka's bottle was shrinking fast and he knew he'd have to make a decision soon. It ended up being an easier choice than he'd thought it might be. He went to the shop and bought a new bottle of suppressant.

Iruka had made sure they had no plans that weekend, getting rid of his Mission Desk shifts and asking Kakashi to not take any missions if possible. On Saturday morning he started the new bottle of pills.

A few hours later, Kakashi went to the kitchen to grab a drink and when he came back he stopped, staring at Iruka. 

"I can smell you," he said, sounding confused. 

Iruka grinned at him.

Kakashi climbed onto Iruka's lap, burying his face in his neck and just smelling him for a moment. There was contentment rolling off Kakashi in waves strong enough Iruka thought he could almost touch them. 

After a moment, Kakashi pulled back. "Not complaining, but _why_ can I smell you? I saw you take a pill this morning."

"I asked for new pills," Iruka replied. "I don't want to hide being an omega anymore, but between my jobs and your schedule, I can't just go into heat naturally. So I figured I'd stay on suppressants for heat only and stop taking them during winter and summer vacation and maybe at the end of the school year. Two or three times a year, if you'll be around."

Kakashi looked ecstatic. "I'll be around!"

"I thought you might be," Iruka grinned. "Also, I want you to teach me how you control your scent. I don't want it to attract unwanted attention on a mission again. I need to learn to control it."

"Only for missions?"

Iruka nodded. "Never at home."

Kakashi nuzzled against Iruka's neck, breathing him in. "Then I can definitely do that." 

They didn't leave their bed for most of the weekend and afterwards, Kakashi was even more insistent about marking Iruka with his scent. It still made Iruka laugh and shake his head with fondness every time Kakashi did it.

"I think people have already gotten the hint, Kakashi," Iruka said.

Kakashi looked at him seriously. "Maybe, but just in case, we should remind them. Plus, now it'll be easier for other people to pick up your scent on me as well." 

Iruka found he liked that idea a lot.

~*~*~

Iruka felt a little nervous walking into the Academy for the first time after changing suppressants. Most of his students were too young to really understand or even notice the difference in his scent. They wouldn't start to truly distinguish between scents until they were closer to presenting, but there was always a chance that some of them might be able to pick it up. He wasn't surprised when none of his class seemed to realize what the difference meant.

At lunchtime a few of the older students did give him confused looks when he walked by them, like they knew something was different about him, but didn't know what exactly. He smiled at them. They'd figure it out soon enough.

The other teachers were surprised but remarkably understanding about the whole thing. Suzume was the only one who had suspected anything. She said she'd wondered about it when he had taken vacation so abruptly twice in a row and then frequently came to work with an alpha scent all over him. Iruka knew that the rest of the world wouldn't be quite as forgiving, but they practiced what they taught at the Academy and they taught that it didn't matter what your nature was.

At the end of the day, Kishou gathered his books slowly, waiting until all the other students had left again, shuffling over to Iruka when they were finally alone.

"Can I help you with something, Kishou-kun?"

He hesitated for a moment and then looked up at Iruka with enough awareness in his eyes that Iruka knew he'd understood the difference. "I was thinking about it, and maybe being an omega wouldn't be so bad after all."

He grinned at Iruka and then ran out the door before Iruka could even respond, yelling goodbye as he went.

Iruka smiled after him.

The idea that he could make a difference to his students just by being himself was more than enough to get him through the variety of looks he experienced during his Mission Desk shift. Most were just curious or surprised, only a few were flat out hostile and those he handled quickly and cuttingly. If an alpha thought Iruka would suddenly be accepting substandard reports just because they realized he was an omega now, they were swiftly disabused of the notion. 

Genma seemed to enjoy watching him cut down arrogant alphas even more than he had enjoyed watching everyone's reactions to Kakashi's scent on him. 

"Damn, sensei," he said at the end of their shift as they were walking out of the Tower, "Remind me to switch all my shifts to line up with yours. The Mission Desk is far more interesting when you're around."

Kakashi dropped down next to Iruka and nodded at Genma, who wished them a goodnight and jumped up to the roofs to head home.

"How'd it go?" Kakashi asked, a touch of concern in his voice. Iruka had asked him to avoid the Mission Desk during his shift, and he had. He knew it had probably killed Kakashi to stay away, but he hadn't wanted people to think he was only doing this now because he had an alpha standing behind him, protecting him.

"Better than I thought," Iruka said, letting out a breath.

"Anyone I need to talk to?"

Iruka shook his head. "Nah, I took care of it."

"Good," Kakashi said. "But the offer stands. I know an omega who might be willing to help cover me in pheromones if needed."

Iruka grinned, remembering the first time Kakashi had offered to help him in a similar way. "'Might be?' I think you mean 'definitely would be.'" 

Kakashi grinned back.

~*~*~

Iruka had always found comfort in small routines, but Kakashi upended all his well-worn habits in the best of ways, his schedule and personality too quirky to fit easily into ordinary, everyday life.

Some parts of Iruka's day would probably never change. Keeping his students from accidentally killing each other as they learned. Yelling at presumptuous idiots with poorly written reports at the Mission Desk. And some new habits were forming. Kissing Kakashi before he left on a mission and after he came home. Relaxing in bed with Kakashi when he was home and realizing how big their bed was when he was gone. But it was the random moments that he had started to like best. Needing to use a water jutsu to put out a fire in the kitchen after Kakashi distracted him from making breakfast. Waking up at 3am with Kakashi kissing his neck and letting it go wherever it took them.

If his reputation was now far from ordinary, that was fine too. He had friends who accepted him for who he was and he had Kakashi. And he found that whether his day was full of chaos or routine, it didn't matter. He had everything he could ever want in life.

~*~*~

~Epilogue~

Iruka was so happy to see Naruto back in town after he returned from his training that he didn't even think before he pulled him into a hug. Naruto started to return the hug but then froze, pulling back a little and inhaling deeply.

"Iruka-sensei, you smell like..." He inhaled again.

Iruka tried not to cringe as he waited for Naruto's reaction. Naruto's own scent was clearly that of an alpha now, having presented shortly after he left for training, but Iruka had expected that. Naruto had written about it with excitement in one of his first letters.

"You smell like Kakashi-sensei," Naruto finished and Iruka let out the breath he had been holding.

"We started dating over a year ago," Iruka explained and Naruto made a face.

"With that pervert? Why on earth would you want to do that?"

Iruka laughed. "It just happened."

"Okay," Naruto grumbled, "but you know if he hurts you, I'll kick his ass, right?"

Iruka ruffled Naruto's hair. "If he hurts me, _I'll_ kick his ass, but you can do whatever you want with the leftovers."

Naruto thought that over. "Fair enough, I guess. But I'll definitely destroy the leftovers." Then he demanded Iruka buy him ramen and Iruka was more than happy to comply.

On the way there Naruto looked over at him. "But don't you hurt him either, okay?"

Iruka couldn't help himself, he ruffled Naruto's hair again. "I'd die first."

Naruto seemed satisfied with that and they settled in for multiple bowls of ramen. Kakashi found them there a little while later.

Naruto eyed him suspiciously for a moment as Kakashi greeted Iruka with a possessive hand on his back. There was a protective spike in Naruto's scent, reminding Iruka of a puppy barking at a much larger dog, and he mumbled something at Kakashi around a mouthful of ramen. Kakashi looked at Iruka to translate.

"He says if you hurt me, he will kick your ass."

Kakashi chuckled a little at that. "If I hurt him, _Iruka_ can kick my ass and then you can have a turn." He looked a little startled when that made both Iruka and Naruto beam at him. 

Iruka finished his ramen with a satisfied sigh, completely and utterly happy with his life.

~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is basically the end of this fic, but some of you might have noticed that the info changed from 7 chapters long to 8. That's because when I was editing this chapter I realized that there was a scene that was out of order chronologically, but when I put it were it should have been (after Iruka stopped hiding that he is an omega but before the epilogue), it totally threw off the ending of the story. So I decided to cut it from this chapter and add it as a deleted scene/bonus chapter at the end of the fic. It's set on Kakashi's next birthday and is a little kinky, but I hope you'll like it. I'll be posting that in a few days. 
> 
> A few people have asked about the chance of a sequel, but I think this leaves them at a really good place for now at least. I do have a couple other ideas of things I would like to explore in this verse that wouldn't necessarily focus on KakaIru. Like maybe Naruto/Sasuke post-war where they're both alphas but end up together and have to figure out how that works (with help from KakaIru of course, set while Kakashi is hokage, so some looks at their life together during that time). I've totally been thinking of this as "Pride and Possessiveness" in my head. XD;; And I also love the idea of ShikaTema where Shikamaru is the first jounin omega in a very long time and he is just absolutely done with how troublesome it is to be a role model and Temari is an alpha but without the penis that female alphas seem to require in order to be an alpha in a lot of universes (because I don't like the implication that a penis is necessary to be an alpha :x). I don't know. We'll see if anything comes of it. I have some other things I want to write first so it's not like ALL I write and post is A/B/O. ;)
> 
> Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this fic. I'd love to hear what you thought about it. 
> 
> This has been an awesome experience. It was the first time I've posted a longer fic with chapters anywhere, and it was really nice to read your comments as each chapter went up. Thank you again so much for all your comments and kudos. I hope if I post something else here in the future, you'll give it a try as well. ♥


	8. Deleted Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning for, uhh... role-played public sex, I guess?
> 
> Set on Kakashi's birthday, roughly 11 months after they got together and maybe four-ish months before Naruto came back.

Iruka tried not to feel like an idiot as he waited in his near empty living room. Kakashi should be back from his mission anytime now. He had promised Iruka he'd be home in time for dinner.

Earlier that day Iruka had pushed all his furniture into the kitchen to make room for the long table he'd bribed Yamato to build as a birthday present for Kakashi. Kakashi had told him many times over that he didn't want a party, but Iruka still wanted to do something special to make up for last year.

"I don't want to know, do I?" Yamato muttered as he worked, reinforcing the table legs at Iruka's request.

"You _really_ don't," Iruka agreed.

Iruka had even gotten out his calligraphy set to add the finishing touches, drawing the kanji for shinobi on the ceiling in washable ink and making banners that read 'turn in mission reports here' and 'thank you for your hard work.'

 _At least he hasn't suggested you dress up in some ridiculous Icha Icha princess outfit_ , Iruka told himself.

Not much later, Iruka heard the doorknob start to turn and straightened up in his seat, drawing on years of experience to slip into his role as vaguely annoyed Mission Desk worker.

Kakashi froze in the doorway, eye darting around the room, from Iruka sitting behind the desk to the kanji on the ceiling, to the piles of scrolls sitting on the table. 

"You're going to hold up the line, Hatake-san," Iruka warned.

Kakashi slammed the door shut and locked it, almost tripping over his own feet as he hurried to stand in front of Iruka. The wave of lust in his scent that came with him hit Iruka hard. It was impossible not to respond to. Kakashi _definitely_ liked the surprise. From the look in his eye, Iruka almost expected him to try to dispel a genjutsu just to make sure everything was real.

Iruka looked at one of the scrolls next to him, pretending to be irritated. "Your report is late again, Hatake-san."

"Ah. Well, you see, I was walking down the road of life when suddenly I saw this chuunin teach-"

Iruka cut him off, holding out his hand expectantly. "Do you have your report to turn in or not?"

Iruka knew he wouldn't have a scroll on him to hand over, but that didn't stop Kakashi. He smirked at Iruka. "I could give you an _oral_ report."

Iruka wasn't foolish enough to turn down a blow job from Kakashi, but he tried to stay in character. "That's against protocol."

"I'll make it a _really_ thorough report," Kakashi said with a leer.

Iruka looked him over. "See that you do."

Kakashi didn't hesitate, just crawled under the tablecloth and between Iruka's legs, pulling Iruka's already half hard cock out and sucking it into his mouth before Iruka could even think.

This was not at all what Iruka had been expecting. He'd thought Kakashi would come home and bend him over the table and fuck him until he couldn't remember his own name. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to last for more than a few minutes.

There was a series of pops and the scent of chakra in the air, but Iruka didn't care. All the dirty things Kakashi said never even came close to what he could do with his mouth like this.

"Iruka-sensei," a voice called and Iruka's eyes shot open. There were three completely nondescript shinobi now forming a line in front of him. Iruka jumped at the sight of them and felt Kakashi pull back a little. He stroked Kakashi's cheek as an apology, but Kakashi just sucked him back in harder.

"Iruka-sensei," the first clone in line repeated, holding out a scroll expectantly.

Iruka took it with shaking hands and opened it, trying to pull himself together. If Kakashi wanted Mission Desk Iruka, he'd get Mission Desk Iruka.

"This report is filled out incorrectly," Iruka said sharply. "You need to fill out a new one."

The clone started to protest, but Iruka cut him off.

"Don't come back until you've filled it out correctly," he said, voice as irritated as he could currently make it. Kakashi hummed around his dick in approval and Iruka had to bite back a moan.

The next clone came forward and Iruka took his scroll, barely glancing at it before he started to berate him.

"Did you write this in the dark? Your handwriting is so bad, how can you expect anyone to be able to read this?"

Kakashi seemed to like that, sucking him off even harder. Iruka thought he heard the clone ask if he need to rewrite it, but he didn't care anymore. He was too close.

"Yes, _fuck yes_ ," he breathed, working both hands into Kakashi's hair then tugging a warning which Kakashi ignored.

He came hard, shouting Kakashi's name then slumping back against his chair. He hadn't even realized he had this kink and now it was all he was going to be able to think about during his next shift. And probably every single shift for the rest of his life.

Kakashi slid up him, kissing him hard while Iruka still hadn't recovered his breath.

"Sensei, it looks like you still have reports to collect," Kakashi said, voice rough with want. Iruka pried his eyes open enough to see all three clones back in line. "I'll give you two choices for the second half of your shift. Would you rather have me sitting on this chair while you ride me or should I bend you over this table and fuck you?"

Iruka groaned. "Either. _Both_. Whatever you want."

"Excellent choice, sensei," Kakashi purred in his ear, lifting Iruka off the chair and setting him on his lap. Iruka ground down against him, enjoying the drag of Kakashi's hard cock against his ass and the desperate way Kakashi grabbed onto his hips. 

Iruka might never be able to work the Mission Desk again without blushing after this, but it'd be entirely worth it.

~*~*~

Afterwards, Kakashi collapsed on top of him, pressing him into the table.

"Best. Birthday. Ever," Kakashi mumbled into his ear. He dispelled his clones, groaning as their memories hit him. "Oh god, multi-angle Iruka porn." 

He pulled Iruka with him as he sat back onto the chair. "I'm going to make clones _every single time_ we have sex, okay?"

Iruka settled back against him, amused. "No, not okay."

He could hear Kakashi's pout in his voice. "Special occasions at least?"

" _Maybe_ special occasions," Iruka allowed.

He felt Kakashi grinning against his neck. "Did you know the day after tomorrow is the first year anniversary of the second time I brought you ramen post-heat?" 

"I said _special_ ," Iruka said, trying not to laugh.

"It was special for me," Kakashi grumbled.

Iruka shook his head. "You shouldn't waste chakra like that."

"Getting to fuck you from behind _and_ see your face when you come is _not_ a waste of chakra."

"Normal people would just buy a large mirror."

"We can do that too."

Iruka laughed in fond exasperation. "Okay, we can do that too."

Life with Kakashi was never going to get boring.

~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all the comments and kudos. I don't think I'll ever get over how well this was received. ♥ 
> 
> And I'm really happy that multiple people are interested in the sequels/spin offs. Will definitely keep them on the To Write list. :)


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